Planeswalker Gothic
by gothicjedi666
Summary: I'm sure you know the drill by now.
1. Ponyville

Planeswalker Gothic

Planeswalker Gothic is a very, very powerful magic user who can travel to anywhere he can imagine being via the Void (aka the Blind Eternities) He can also go to places he doesn't know about by viewing them while in the Void, but his lack of knowledge about those places make it dangerous for him visit them.

Aside from that he is mortal, only he does not age or get ill. He can be killed, but as long as he has at least one mox diamond filled with mana it will heal him, and even bring him back to life, so as long as he doesn't get blown up or lose his head he should be fine.

He can obtain magical powers to make himself more powerful, and use magical items to enhance himself. He has vast amounts of magical energies to call upon, but doesn't know any spells to start with, however he can learn spells very quickly. He can also learn to brew potions, perform alchemy and enchant items, but not the artefacts he gets from cards.

Also he can shape shift, however he can not yet control this power so he will always shift into a form the natives will accept, be that human, elf, dwarf or something more exotic. The limits on this are divine and demonic beings.

The Cards

PG has a special deck of Magic: The Gathering Cards. He always has forty cards in his deck.

The deck replenishes itself as he uses cards which means he doesn't know what spells he has or what creatures he will be able summon unless they are one of the cards curently in his hand, or if he takes the time to carefully pick cards out of the deck.

Creatures who are summoned, will vanish if they are killed or if the card is returned to deck or if PG leaves that plane, they are not real as PG can not create life. Artefacts become real when the card is used, and then card vanishes, but the item which was created will remain even if PG leaves that reality.

The one thing all cards have in common is that they require mana to use.

Mana

Red, Black, White, Blue and Green are the five colours of Mana, each comes from a different kind of land, and they are used to power the matching colour of cards. Having too much of one colour of Mana isn't a problem as the deck chances to provide cards useful to Planeswalker Gothic, however any using one kind of Mana can have a negative effect on Planeswalker Gothic.

Mana is stored in the Mox diamonds of which he has six, for now. Unlike other kinds of magic, which he can also make us of, Mana comes from land, the energy of the places he visits absorbed into the Mox diamonds over the space of about an hour. However no piece normal of land can fill more than a single diamond in a day as the energy has to be replenished. Thankfully he can draw from nearby land as well.

If he badly needs more Mana PG can 'tap' any land he owns to fill a Mox diamond even if he is on the other side of the planet, but not across realities.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Part 1**

 **Equestria**

At first I'd been somewhere else. A place outside of reality, outside of all realities, an endless nothingness that surrounded everything and yet at the same time it was not part of anything. The knowledge I'd somehow been given told me that it was called the Blinding Eternities. I just called it the Void.

When offered the chance to leave, by something or someone, I'd taken it, and as I had fallen back into the vastness of creation my spark, my soul, had taken physical form, giving me life once again.

My first corporal sensation since I'd died, and I was sure I had died even if I couldn't remember how, was that of pain. I felt my body stretching in unnatural ways. I suffered through bones breaking and then reforming into new shapes, while organs shifted place or changed. I was very glad when it was over.

My new knowledge told me that changing form would get easier over time, and that so would walking the planes, but for now doing both of those things had worn me out. It would be sometime before I could perform even the simplest of magic or even move quickly.

The Mox Diamonds, would require time to charge, about an hour for each of them, so that would take six hours, maybe more. Knowing that made me want to figure out where I was in case I didn't have six hours to sit around doing no magic at all. Besides drawing Mana from lands far away took more time I somehow understood, so it would better if I moved around.

I had appeared beside a stream just next to a forest, and as I looked around I saw no signs of civilization, which surprised me because the main reason why I had left the Void was because I didn't want to be alone forever, so when I'd reached out, attempting rejoin the multi-verse, my intention had been to find some people.

Sure I was a loner, but that had always been my choice. Not having any options had been a torment. I never would remained sane being so cut off from everyone and everything else.

Cautiously I took a few steps toward the stream, and then I fell over. My new body was not humanoid, and this freaked me for a few moments, but I calmed down and experimented with moving around as a four legged creature rather than as a human being. Getting off the ground was a chore, but I managed it.

To my delight moving in my new body seemed to come naturally once I stopped worrying about it, and soon I was able to walk... well trot over to the nearby stream.

I stopped once I'd reached the water and was soon looking down at my reflection. The water was calm enough for me to get decent view of myself.

The eyes were the same blue as before, just a different shape, but everything else was different. My coat was was a nice dark shade of silver, my mane and tail were as black as my human hair, but what mattered more than anything was the fact that I was a unicorn, since Planeswalkers used magic, a unicorn made some sense as they were magical creatures.

The Mox Diamonds, all six of them, were currently embedded in a leather strap of some sort that was wrapped around one of my front legs. As for my deck of cards they were in a small pouch that was also attached to the only thing I had on.

When I turned I saw what was on my side, this tipped me off to where I was. I had a 'cutie mark' mine was made up of five circles and each was a different colour: black, white, red, blue and green. Which were the five colour of Mana.

After processing all of that, which took a few moments, I wondered why I hadn't become one of those Ponies with both a unicorn horn and the wings, but then I recalled that my shape shifting power was meant to allow me to blend in. Alicorns were rare, I would draw far less attention to myself as Unicorn, and that was good.

Next I spent some time figuring out where to go, from what I knew about this place it was very safe, at least when compared to most 'fictional' worlds. I figured I wasn't going to get jumped by Pony bandits, or eaten by rabid wolves.

Thankfully I soon found a path running alongside the woods, and I knew that I most likely heading for Ponyville, rather than Canterlot because it wasn't a proper road, it was more of a dirt path. But even if I was wrong it didn't much matter as all roads lead somewhere.

Not long after starting my journey I spied a small cottage, and while I was still male in this form, at least as far I could tell, I was not strictly speaking a man so I felt no shame in going and asking for directions.

It took me a few tries to open the gate, as I lacked hands, but I was able to open it and once I had done that I walked up to the door. Hesitantly I reached out and knocked lightly on the frame with a hoof. I was oddly nervous for some reason.

"I'll be right there" a small voice called softly from inside.

Soon enough the door opened to reveal a small yellow Pegasus who had a pink mane. She looked at me for about a second before hiding half her face behind the door. I didn't need three guesses to know which of the My Little Ponies this was.

"Hello there Miss" I said in my nicest voice "My name is... Gothic. I'm new to this... part of the world and I was hoping you could point me towards Ponyville".

I'd hesitated twice, the first time was because I'd suddenly remembered that certain beings can use your name against you using a curse, and magic real so those can kinds of spells could be. Therefore it would be wise of me not to use the name my parents had given me while walking the planes.

The second time had been because I'd almost said planet. I wasn't worried about being identified as somepony from another reality as the ponies were friendly, but not all people could get their heads around the idea of there being multiple realities. It was best to keep things simple for now.

"I...I..." Fluttershy tried to say.

The poor pony seemed a little overwhelmed so I decided to make things a bit easier for her.

"What's your name?" I asked softly.

This time she was able to give a proper reply.

"My name is Fluttershy" she said

Now we were getting somewhere.

"Pleased to meet you Fluttershy" I replied.

I smiled at her, and then I gave her a moment to calm herself.

"Now would be so kind as to tell me how to get to Ponyville?" I requested.

She needed another moment, but she was able to answer.

"I'll...I'll show you the way" she offered.

(Line Break)

As it turned out Fluttershy had been about to head into town anyway, I figured this out when we arrived in the centre of town and saw that the rest of the gang was already there. Four of them were standing around while Rainbow Dash was hoovering up in the air.

"Ah Fluttershy, nice of you to finally arrive" said Rarity.

That wasn't the greeting I would have expected from someone who embodied one of the Elements of Harmony.

"Good ta see ya sugarcube" said a much more friendly Applejack "Who's yer friend?"

The others were all looking at me, and I felt compelled to say something.

"Hello ladies.. I mean ponies... My name is Gothic" I introduced "I'm new to this part of the world..."

Pinkie Pie suddenly disappeared. Not magically, as far as I was able to tell, she just became a blur.

"Oh deary me, I don't think we'll ever be able to understand how she manages that." Rarity remarked "No doubt she's already off planning a welcome to Ponyville party".

Parties weren't really my thing, but I didn't think I'd avoid going as Pinkie Pie was my favourite MLP, mostly because she reminded me of my hyperactive niece. They both had that boundless energy of the young, and a taste for the colour pink.

"Anyway I met Fluttershy on my way into town" I went on to say "And she was kind enough to escort me here".

So far everything seemed to be going well. I wasn't having any kind of panic attack due to how crazy my life had gotten, and I had not embarrassed myself in any way.

"So what brings you Ponyvillie?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

I needed just a moment to form an answer to her question.

"I'm a wandering scholar you might say" I told the flying pony "I was hoping to visit your town's library sometime soon, it famous for its texts on magic and history. There are a few books I might want to check out"

They seemed to accept that, and if anything they had become more interested in where Pinky Pie had gotten off to than me.

"You ponies wouldn't happen to know a place I could stay until I find a place of my own do you?" I asked of them.

It would take me at least a few hours to charge up my Mox Diamonds, as only one of them was lit up and I knew that it would take a lot of Mana to empower a card that could create a building.

"We've got room at the farm, if'n ya don't mind sleeping on the hay." Applejack offered "Might be a tad uncomfortable, and that darn draft in the barn ain't gonna help ya much".

Given that I had the powers of a god, or would very soon have, I felt I could do better,

"No offense Miss" I said to the Earth Pony "but I've come along way I really need a proper bed. If there's a hotel around here I can't pay now, but I can work off any debt".

I'd gone to the afterlife and back again. That sort of thing required a good night's rest.

"Hey I understand partner" assured Applejack "I'd make the same choice in yer position"

That was when Twilight spoke up.

"I have a small guest room available at the library" she told me "If you're anything like me you'll probably read to you fall asleep".

Given how badly I needed to start learning the basics of magic, this was most likely going to be the case.

"Thank you" I said in reply "Hopefully I'll be able to repay your kindness once I've gotten some rest".

Once I had some Mana and a chance to look through my deck there would be lots of things I could do, not all of them kind, but I had no intention of unleasing horrible monsters upon the ponies just so I could test out summoning.

(Line Break)

Library. Ponyville.

"Well, for history I recommend: An Unabridged History of Equestria" the purple unicorn suggested "Also, you should look through 'The Legends of Equestria, The Biography of Nightmare Moon' and of course 'The Elements of Harmony: A Complete Guide', that should give you a pretty in-depth understanding of recent Equestrian history".

I had just one question to ask as the unicorn floated the suggested reading material onto the table I was standing by.

"Have you read all these books?" I asked.

She nodded.

"That's very impressive" I said.

Twilight blushed an impressive shade of red as she suddenly found her feet rather fascinating.

"I... may have gone through them all a couple of times" she admitted "My study of magic is the most important, but I just find history so interesting".

As did I.

"Mostly I want to know about magic" I informed Sparkle "But I wouldn't mind learning more about Ponies too".

Twilight then went on to list a series of books which would assist me with learning about the social structure of Pony society and about the biology of Pony races, which were the Unicorns, the Pegasi and the Earth Ponies.

It wasn't until I tried to open a book, that Twilight began to suspect that I wasn't what I appeared to be.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to use your horn?" she asked me.

That was when I decided to tell the truth.

"I didn't have one until today" I explained "I used to have a totally different body, but then I died and became a Planeswalker. It's a long story really, but that's the condensed version".

Rather than ask me a million more questions, as I had expected her to do. Sparkle levitated a book over to a stand and then she flipped through the pages without actually touching them. As she read she tensed up, and even before she looked at me I could tell how nervous she was.

"You're not here to hurt anyone are you?" she asked of me "Because if you are... I'll have to fight you".

She was very brave to even consider doing battle with a Planeswalker, however since I couldn't get my cards out of my pouch I was pretty much helpless, which meant my only course of action was to talk.

"I'm not one of those evil Planeswalkers" I assured her "I don't even know how to use my powers. I didn't even mean to come her. I just want to learn about magic and ponies, that is all. Most Planeswalkers are just explorers, and when they do want to rule as gods they tend to make their own realms, few go around attacking people".

Twilight relaxed somewhat, and then she did start asking questions.

"The book doesn't have much to say on Planeswalkers" she said "So can you tell me how your magic works".

I figured I might as well explain a little.

"Its different for me because I have these" I informed.

With some effort I was able to use my mouth to get the cards out of the pouch, but then I ended up playing my own version of 52 pick up. For a moment the cards filled the air. Thankfully Sparkle was able to use her powers to stack them neatly on the table closest to her.

"Thank you" I said

Then with my hoof I spread some of cards out across the table.

"A Planeswalker can use what's called Mana, it magic drawn from the land, and with this energy we can cast some very powerful spells, summon creatures from other planes and even create magical artefacts" I explained "I'm new to all this so I don't what I can do yet, but once my Mana charges up I'll be able do some impressive magic I'm sure".

With the right card I could lay waste to the entire of Ponyville.

"Can you show me how you cast a spell?" Sparkle requested.

If she did something for me I would.

"Sure" I replied "But first I need you tell me how to use this horn".

That made her laugh.

"Okay the first thing you need to know..."

That was as far as she got because someone interrupted us.

"Twiliiiiiight, it's Rarity!" a voice called out "I'm here to return those books I borrowed".

I got the impression that this was just an excuse for her to come over. I was clued into this by the total lack of books she was carrying.

"You will be glad to know that I managed to convince Pinkie Pie to hold off on the welcome to Ponyville party" the fancy unicorn informed me, while completely ignoring Sparkle "I told her you needed a chance to settle in before meeting everyone".

I was pleased by this news.

"Thank you Lady Rarity" I said "That was most kind".

She struck me as the kind of pony who would respond well to being talked to as if she was someone noble. Plus a little flattery never hurt.

"Oh it was no trouble at all" she replied "but if you insist on thanking me perhaps we could have lunch together".

That didn't sound horrible, but I was lacking in funds. Thankfully Twlight understood my problem without it being expressed.

"Why don't we all go" she suggested "We can give you a tour and then I'll buy us all something to eat, and you can me more about Planeswalkers".

That seemed like a good idea to me.


	2. Ponyville 2

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Part 2**

 **Equestria**

Eating as a magical pony was an interesting experience to say the least. I had no hands for gripping my food, and I'd never eaten a dandelion sandwich before, so I had no idea if my manner of eating offended anyone. Also I really wasn't looking forward to figuring out how to deal with the food coming out the other end. Thankfully Twilight's million plus questions made for a good distraction.

"So what's the difference between Mana and Magic?" she asked me.

This was easy to answer as Planeswalker had a good gasp of magic, as well as the ability to talk about it endlessly. However that didn't mean that my view of matters was the correct one as I still had much to learn.

"Well as you know, magic is a power that is all around us" I told the pony "Some lucky people can tap into that energy in different ways. There is internal magic, in which you store a certain amount of power inside yourself. Once that is used up you have to wait for it to recharge as new magic is drawn into you. The more you practice this kind of magic the more energy you can store inside yourself, and the quicker it will recharge".

That was only one way of using magic, and it was most likely how the unicorns did it. I could also do magic that way, but as of yet I didn't know any spells so it was kind of useless.

"Another way of using magic is call upon higher and lower powers via some sort of ritual" I went on to say "This can allow you do some impressive stuff, but if the being you are getting power from says no to your request then your pretty much stuck".

That was a kind of magic no Planeswalker would ever use. Mostly due to a total lack of need as we had Mana, but also because we were worshipped as gods on some planes of existence, so asking someone else for power would hurt our pride to much.

"Mana is different in that it comes not from inside a person or from another being, a place, or even an artefact, it comes from the land itself" I stated "There's a lot of magical power even on a small island so Planeswalkers can gather great amounts of energy, and we use that magic to empower some very impressive spells".

I waited a few moments to let Twilight Sparkle process all of that before speaking again. My explanation of two main different kinds of magic had been very simple, and there were other ways as well, but it was enough to illustrate the points I was trying to make.

"Now Mana comes in five colours" I then explained "White, Black, Red, Blue and, Green".

Currently I had a single green colour Mox Diamond so if I could find a card that only cost a little green mana to use I'd be able to show off a spell. Sadly sorting through cards was tricky when you lacked fingers.

"How are those colours different?" was Twilight's next question.

Before I answered I checked to see how Rarity was doing, and my opinion was that she wasn't actually listening at all, she was just pretending to listen so as to have an excuse to look at me.

I found this more flattering than unnerving. Which was odd for me as normally I didn't like to be the centre of attention, I guessed that dying and then coming back to life had changed me. That or it was part of my Planeswalker nature.

"Islands and oceans provide blue mana" I said "The strength of blue lies in trickery and manipulation, rather than brute force. Blue mages work best behind the scenes, scheming and stealing secrets. With the power of blue, a Planeswalker can call upon wizards, weird beasts of the air and oceans to serve him".

I had much more to say. This could take a while.

"For the most part, blue likes to take it slow" I told the ponies "It despises hasty actions and is also very big on deception, cloaking the truth and concealing its true motives. As the ruler of air and water, blue always finds a way to make its more creatures effective infiltrators through some form of evasion, or by flying. It also has a unique skill in the matters of time, usually reversing it by unsummoning things. Blue, as the colour of intelligence, takes great pride in never running out of options".

Or at least that was information that had been crammed into my head. As of yet I didn't understand everything I'd just said, but it sounded very intelligent, and Twilight Sparkle was transfixed by my words.

"Black mana comes from things like swamps, where things fester and rot" I was now saying "Selfishness, power at any cost - these are the twisted values of the darkness. Black magic is powerful and easy to wield, but it comes with a high price. Its spells and abilities can warp the mind, poison the land, and turn creatures into nothingness. Dark minions, undead creatures, and unspeakable horrors are as self-serving and treacherous as the mages who commanded them. It is not completely evil, though it is often portrayed to be".

No one interrupted so I decided to keep talking.

"Black is fairly simple to understand" I was now telling the magical ponies "It focuses on winning at all costs. It can be simple, or very abstract. Though it can be an aggressive, it focuses on manipulating the opponent at any cost. When a black Mana user gets aggressive, he does so by clearing the path for his creatures".

Which sounded like fun

"Black also cares about glory but instead of creating or enhancing, it selfishly takes. And it seeks unity only within itself, outsiders are to be killed or exploited" was what I said next, "Finally, black will do absolutely whatever it has to in order to gain the upper-hand. It is even willing to sacrifice part of itself in order to do what it does more efficiently".

These still weren't my words, but that didn't stop me from using them.

"Now Red mana comes from the mountains and the fiery heart of the world itself" I said "Red magic is filled with fire, frenzy, and storms of rock and lava. Its creatures are warlike and dangerous, ranging from mighty dragons to hordes of rampaging goblins. Mages who master red magic have no patience for talk or subtlety. They act quickly and recklessly. Red mages can channel their wild emotions to crush the ground you walk on or to wield flame like a living weapon".

Which sounded really cool.

"Red is like the hyperactive little brother of blue" I then informed "It likes to just rush right into things and be as aggressive as possible. It rules over the elements of earth and fire, along with anything else that may become mountain-related. This eventually resulted in being able to use ice, since mountains tend to be very cold locations. It does share electricity with its blue rival, however. Sometimes, it doesn't even know what it's doing itself, and introduces random effect. Red is based around impulse, fury and destroying things".

There was still more for me to say on this subject.

"Red Creatures are very aggressive but not too bright" I explained "No creatures prove this better than Goblins. They're small but fearless, and there are tons of them. Giants, Orcs, and Ogres are some other types of red Creatures. They're bigger and meaner than Goblins but just as stupid. Dragons are the exception among the red creatures. Dragons are huge, smart and cruel. Goblins are their popcorn. Clever red mages have both on their side".

I still wasn't finished yet.

"The there is Green" I said "The teeming forests overflow with green mana, the pulse of nature. Green magic is about growth, life, and brute force. When a green mage fights, massive creatures crash through the undergrowth, animals enlarge to gargantuan size, and wounds close before blood spills onto the ground. Strength, ferocity, and life: These are the values that sustain the green mage".

"Green mages understand that the world obeys the law of the jungle that everything is either predator or prey" I was now saying "Green mages do what they can to accelerate and protect nature: jungles expand, artifacts crumble, and creatures regenerate themselves. For green mages, even the plants become lethal weapons. At their best, green mages are instinctual and adaptive. At their worst, they are savage, unthinking, and predatory".

My mouth felt a little dry so I sipped my drink using a straw before speaking further.

"Green mages can summon a huge variety of creatures" I told the ponies "from forest-dwelling animals to territorial elves and awe-inspiring behemoths. Some green creatures are living wellsprings of mana; others overrun their foes in a mighty rush of ferocious power. From towering nature elementals to carnivorous wurms, green creatures are the biggest and mightiest around".

There was just one more to go.

"White is the colour of order, light, and healing" I explained "White Mages like to lay down the law and enforce it. Many white cards represent knights, castles and soldiers. Others represent creatures that live on the plains. Angels are powerful protectors in the sky, and clerics protect the weak and injured. It is not necessarily good, though white will often present itself in this way".

Mana wasn't good or evil, it was more complex than that so I was sure that Twilight would have a few follow up questions, but our attention was diverted when we noticed that pretty much everyone in town was gravitating to one spot, and naturally we went to find out what the heck was going on.

When we found out I merely stood, dumbfounded, next to an equally aghast Rarity and a somewhat upset Twilight, as a unicorn magician rattled off a long list of her positive virtues. Most of which were used as prefixes to her name, which was Trixie. The Great and Powerful Trixie,

For a moment I wondered if her insanity was merely part of the act, but I dismissed that when she pulled a bunny from a hat, she was nothing more than a stage performer with a massive ego.

"Roll up, roll up. Get in line for the most bedazzling, incredible show in all of pony history! Be part of a one in a life time phenomenon as the Great and Powerful Trixie shows her fabulous and unprecedented magical skill!"

I turned to Rarity,

"Well you can't say she's lacking in... showponyship?" I said.

Hopefully that was a word.

"Sure can't" said Applejack, who just walked over to us "Shame her attitude stinks more than a pile of old manure that's been set on fire".

I actually laughed upon hearing that.

"Yes thank you, Applejack," Rarity remarked "Burning manure is exactly what I want to be thinking about just after eating a lovely lunch!".

I laughed about that to.

"Not to mention she's been doing nothing but talking herself up for what feels like forever" Twilight commented "Is there even a show to watch?".

She did seem to have an endless amount of self-aggrandising talk, and while she had done one trick it didn't look as if she knew anymore.

"Perhaps this is the show" I wondered "Maybe she's a comedy act".

There were noises of agreement and faint nods from the three mares standing around me, and I spent a while amusing myself with ideas of what I would do once I figured out how to use my cards effectively.

Aside from visiting some worlds just for fun, and finding some cool magical items, there were other plans knocking around my head. One of my long term goals was to build my own plane of existence that I could not only rule, but also populate as I saw fit.

Creating life was beyond me, at least for now as summon creatures weren't actual real, but I was sure that sooner or later I'd find a way to make summoned or conjured creatures stick around for as long I wanted them to. It would most likely involve somehow binding them to my realm.

If that didn't work I'd have to figure out a way to move people to my realm without passing through the Void because that would kill anyone who didn't have the Spark. There was a way to get around that, but right I didn't know what it was. Possible it involved portals.

"Hey, everypony" greeted Rainbow Dash she landed next to us "has the show started yet?"

She was met with a collective sigh and a resounding round of 'no' from all of us present. Our lack of enthusiasm was self evident.

"Ah, I think she's finally finished with the sales pitch" Rarity then said.

Rather than do anything Trixie retreated backstage and we all sighed in annoyance for a second time.

"Or perhaps not" Rarity corrected herself.

If the show was just this Trixie ranting on about how wonderful she was I would become very miffed.

"Come one, come all," said a voice belonging to the now-unseen blue unicorn. "Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and All Powerful Trixie!"

There was a flash of light, a puff of smoke and in an instant the blue unicorn appeared triumphantly on stage, she beamed smugly as a chorus of 'ooooo's rose up from the gathered crowd.

"Gaze in awe and wonder as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs feats that have never before been witnessed by pony eyes!" the show off went on to say.

If I'd been able to sort through my cards, and if I had more than one Mana filled Mox Diamond I'd have shown everyone here what real magic was.

"My what boasting" Rarity said.

Spike then muttered something about Twilight and moustaches before sprinting off in the opposite direction. I had no idea what that was about. This was also when I noticed that Sparkle looked very concerned.

"There's nothing wrong with being talented is there?" she asked

I figured she now worrying about how people saw her when she performed magic in front of other people.

"She's a show-off and the ponies of Ponyville don't take too kindly to show-offs" Applejack stated.

Trixie then made a bouquet of flowers appear via magic, while looking all too pleased with herself.

"Exactly!" Rarity agreed as flipped her mane dramatically to the side. "Being able to do lots of silly magic does not make a pony better than the rest of us"

Those had not been good things to say in front of Twilight, because while none of her friends thought she was a show off, their words made Sparkle think otherwise.

"Well, it seems we have some neiiiigh-sayers in the audience!" Trixe then called out. "Do they not know that they are in the presence of the greatest magician in all of Equestria?!"

I cast a sidelong glance at the friends, who were all expressing either annoyance or outright anger

"Just who does she think she is?" Rarity said softly.

Spike, who had snuck back into the group mere moments ago, began to say something before being ushered away by Twilight, who spoke to him away from the crowd in hushed tones.

"What makes you think you're so great anyway?" Dash asked much more loudly than anyone else.

The showmare scoffed.

"It's very simple: only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic enough to defeat the dreaded URSA MAJOR!" she replied.

A series of extra fireworks shot up into the sky and produced a crude outline of a bear that I fuigured was meant to look fearsome.

"When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one else to turn to" Trixie informed us "The Great and Powerful Trixie vanquished the dreaded Ursa Major with her awesome magic and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!"

The firework representing Trixie shot out purple lines, and the giant bear vanished with a sudden shot of sparks. Most present gasped in awe, loudly praising the magical abilities of the pony before them.

As for me I noticed that I now had two green coloured Mox diamonds. That would be enough to put Trixie in her place.

"Okay that's it!" I shouted out "Someone pick out all the green coloured cards from my deck I am going to show everyone some real magic!".

(Line Break)

It took a little work, and some help from Rarity, but I managed to get two green mana powered cards charged up and ready for use. I had to hold them in my hoof very carefully so that I could talk to everyone.

"Time for some real magic" I told the audience "And unlike her I'm not going to spend all my time bragging I'm just going to entertain you".

The ground waited with bated breathe.

 _Birds of Paradise!_

As summoned creatures went a flock of brightly coloured birds were lousy in battle, but as entertainment they really were worth the Mana, the birds did whatever I wished so I made fly around above the audience for a while. As an add bonus I got some red Mana for my trouble I had no idea how that worked and I didn't worry about it. Once the wonder had started to wear off I dismissed the birds and the card vanished.

"Your turn Trixie!" I challenged.

She was dumbfounded for a while, but the unicorn was able to recover and perform her own trick. Which was to make a pony disappear after putting them behind a curtain. I had no doubt this involved a trap door, but it went down well so I knew I had to kick things up a notch.

"I too will need a volunteer from the audience!" I called out.

Pinkie Pie was up on the stage so fast she could have given The Flash a run for his money, and for a moment I considered that using this card on her might be a bad idea, but I really wanted to show off.

 _Giant Growth!_

In the game of Magic: The Gathering, all this card did was vastly increase the attack and defence power of a creature for a single turn, but this was no game. The card was far more literal, it made Pinky Pie grow into a giant, and amazingly no one ran away while screaming.

At least not until Pinky started to sing and dance, and then the sheer terror came, thankfully I was able to end the spell, and soon the hyperactive Earth Pony shrank down to her normal size.

Once that happened the ponies returned the show and judging by their words I figured that they all thought what they'd see was an illusion rather than a massive Pinky Pie, which hopefully would cut down on the nightmares the foals would no doubt have.

"Can you beat that?" I asked Trixie.

It took her a while to remember how her mouth worked, and while she did that I looked around. Then I discovered something I'd either failed to notice or hadn't been able sense until now.

I knew the power of my own Spark, as I had called upon it, and now I was seeing it in someone else. It was dormant, but defiantly there.

Twilight Sparkle was a Planeswalker.


	3. Ponyville 3

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Part 3**

 **Equestria**

Twilight Sparkle had walked from the crowd while I was busy showing off, and when I had gotten back to her home I'd found that she had shut herself away in her room, so I'd been left waiting in the library for the whole situation to resolve itself.

It wasn't hard to guess that the purple unicorn was worried about coming across as arrogant due to her being far better at magic than the so-called 'Great and Powerful' Trixie. However I wasn't worried, as it was only a matter of time before her friends made her realise that it was okay to be proud of your talents and then they'd probably spontaneously burst into song, while the rest of the town acted as back up dancers.

From the porch of the town's library I was able to see the crowd as it started to break up, and I also got to see that two of the locals colts had been so impressed by Trixie's show that they had stayed behind to pack up for her. For a few moments I wondered why no young fillies wanted to help me with anything.

"Not settling in for the night?" Applejack asked of me she past by "Guess you Planeswalkers don't get up early like us hard working Earth Ponies".

I then spent a moment pondering if I should have kept my true nature hidden from the ponies, but on the other hand this was the kind of place were truthfulness was highly valued so perhaps I had made the right choice in telling Twilight what I really was.

"Is something wrong, Applejack?" I enquired.

As soon as I'd stopped thinking about myself I had noticed that something was upsetting the pony in the straw hat.

"I'm mighty sorry, for whatever I said that upset Twilight" the pony confessed "but that barrel o' hot air just got to me. I can't believe she'd just roll into town, say the things she said and do the things she did. Then you go puttin' her in her place. Not that I'm complainin'".

Yeah that might have made things worse.

"It was nice to put that pony in her place" I said with a smile "And to show off how talented I am".

No one would ever forget giant Pinkie Pie. Even in their dreams.

"Bet you can't bake a decent apple pie" Apple Jack said with a grin.

Baking wasn't my greatest skill.

"No, but I make a mean pizza" I told the Earth Pony.

With a roll of her eyes, the farmer waved goodbye.

(Line Break)

Late into the night I read by candlelight.

 _Each of the three tribes, the Pegasi, the unicorns, and the Earth ponies, cared not for what befell the other tribes, but only for their own welfare. In those troubled times, as now, the Pegasi were the stewards of the weather, but they demanded something in return: food that could only be grown by the Earth Ponies. The unicorns demanded the same, in return for magically bringing forth day and night. And so, mistrust between the tribes festered, until one fateful day, it came to a boil. And what prompted the ponies to clash? It was a mysterious blizzard that overtook the land, and toppled the tribes' precarious peace._

I loved learning history, so much so that it had diverted me from the topic I had been studying: Unicorn Magic.

 _The blizzard led to a terrible famine, so the three tribal leaders eventually agreed to meet for a summit in order to decide what to do about the snow, but this only devolved into arguing and as each blamed the other. The leaders of each tribe then decided to journey to a new land. They all arrived at the same place, and soon began fighting over it, and the blizzard quickly followed. And so the paradise that the ponies had found was soon lost, buried beneath a thick blanket of snow and hard feelings._

Given the way this world worked I figured that the bad weather had been some sort of manifestation of the negative feelings the ponies of the time had felt for each other.

 _Eventually, the leaders' assistants figured out windigos were causing the storm by feeding off of hate. The assistants' friendship created the magical Fire of Friendship which did away with the windigos and the snowstorm._

I spent a moment wondering if that had actually happened or if was just a story, this was a magical land so either was possible.

 _The three leaders then decide to join forces and found a country shared by all three tribes, and named it Equestria._

I then decided to get back to reading about Unicorn magic when I heard something, actually it was two people making noise, there were male voices and they were sneaking around very late at night.

As far as I knew Ponyville didn't have crooks, but it was rather odd for people to be out so late so I went to see what was going

"I thought the Great and Powerful Trixie said she didn't want to be disturbed!" a female voice then yelled out.

Referring to yourself in the third person was never a good sign, but the pair of colts admirers shrugged off the attempted dismissal.

"We brought an Ursa Major to town!" one of them declared

As far as I knew Ursa Major was a star constellation so I had no idea how it could be brought anywhere.

"You did what?!" a panicked sounding unicorn asked.

Perhaps she would have spoken more but that was when we all saw the Ursa Major, it was a bear made up from of a pattern of stars, and it was heading right for Trixie's trailer.

I had two choices at this point, try to procure some popcorn and watch the entering death of the annoying showpony or I could use what little Mana I had in attempt to save the unicorn. I had no real desire to be heroic, but if the starlight creature destroyed the town I'd have no where to stay.

Since I still had no telekinetic ability worth mentioning, having only started reading about it a few hours ago I was forced to use to my body to save Trixie, she made a loud squeaking noise as I pushed her out of danger. While she was unharmed physically by my actions, I imagined that her pride was rather bruised.

Having already made one incredibly bad decision, I decided to go for broke and started to sort through my deck of cards as quickly as I could.

Meanwhile Trixie tried unsuccessfully to speak as the star bear thing trashed everything that she owned. That made me very happy, and her very unhappy, so she started to have go at the creature and it responded to that. The Ursa Major let out a thunderous roar, and Trixie 'eep'd.

This brought me time to make my move, using my hooves and my mouth I was able to select a card.

 _Fireball_

The attack used up my Red Mana filled Mox Diamond, and the ball of fire should have done some major damage only the Ursa Major swiped a giant paw and simply batted the fireball aside. It exploded in the air and it might as have been a big firework for all the damage it did.

I was so dumbfounded that it wasn't until the star bear thing came right at me that I reacted in any way, my reaction was to run and hide.

"Come on, Great and Powerful Trixie!" one of the idiot colts called out"Vanquish the dreaded Ursa Major!".

By now more ponies had been woken up, and some of them were looking at me as if I would save them. Which I wasn't sure I could.

"Yeah, Gothic vanquish the Ursa Major" a young pony shouted.

None of them seemed to understand that they were in great danger, nor did they understand that neither Trixie or I could deal with the star bear thing. We really needed Twilight Sparkle to come help us.

"Yeah, it took a lot of effort to bring that thing here!" one of the foolish colts admitted.

Trixie finally snapped out of her trance, and she got mad.

"Why did you two bring that thing here?!" she screamed "Are you out of your tiny pony minds?!"

That seemed to be the case, they just stood there as the star bear thing roared some more.

"Maybe they're just morons?" I mused.

The two ponies looked mildly hurt at our accusations, but their world view wasn't shattered by the fact that both Trixie and I were hiding.

"But you're the Great and Powerful Trixie!" one of them said "You defeated the mighty Ursa Major before!"

Then to my amazement Trixie got up and, faced the Ursa creature head-on. She was prepared for battle.

Seconds later _a_ rope was entwined with violet coloured magic which wrapped itself firmly around the Ursa Major. Myself and the crowd looked on in awe as the enchanted item, it had be such a thing, worked its way around the beast's paws.

"Piece of cake!" the unicorn said proudly.

The rope was easily snapped by the star-creature, and the crowd that had now gathered took a collective step backwards as star bear thing began to roar once more.

"Come on Gothic" a filly called out "You can vanquish it!".

Since I was able to draw in magical energy from the lands around me I did have some Green Mana left, and if I was lucky I might be able to summon a creature that was capable of defeating the Ursa Major, or if not then at least something that could keep it busy for a while

"Okay… I've got this" I assured everyone.

The only thing I could afford to summon was a wolf, and it didn't do much other than bark because as soon as I ordered it to attack the star-creature just batted it aside with a paw and the wolf vanished.

"I'm out of Mana!" I yelled "Everyone run!"

Most of them did hoof it, but not everyone.

"What're you doing, Great and Powerful Trixie?" one of the silly ponies asked "Why haven't you vanquished it yet?"

The unicorn sighed in defeated fashion.

"I can't!" she confessed "No one can. I just made the whole thing up to make myself look better!"

There was no time for such things right now, everyone had to flee, as I urged the remaining ponies to run something struck me very hard.

(Line Break)

I winced repeatedly as jolts of pain ran through my body as I tried to move. My efforts to battle the star bear thing hadn't gone very well and I'd run out of mana very quickly. Clearly my skills and knowledge were very much lacking.

 _"_ Don't worry Gothic the Princesses brought the elements, we were able to drive the Ursa Major away" a voice assured me.

I was too busy vowing never to be heroic again to find out who was talking to me.

"Are you alright?" some else then asked.

I took a few deep breaths and then I nodded. I didn't know how the Elements would have been able to do anything to a being like that, but I was very glad they'd tried.

Once I could focus enough to see I saw Princess Luna appear beside Twilight as Princess Celestia gathered the Elements of Harmony and placed them back in a case. But it wasn't the magical artefacts that got my attention, it was the two princesess. They were Planeswalkers, with active Sparks. Which meant that either of them could kill me with ease I figured.

"Who is this Twilight?" Princess Luna asked.

I couldn't find the strength to talk so it was good that she had asked someone else.

"Princesses, allow me to introduce Planeswalker Gothic" Sparkle said "He tried to drive the Ursa Major away and got hurt"

With some effort I made a sort of bow, it was the best I could do due to the pain in ribs, and I was still trying to catch my breath so I was unable to add anything to conversation.

"I don't entirely understand what he did, because its a magic unlike any I've ever heard of before" Twilight was now saying "He hasn't told us that much about himself or his past, but I still trust him"

That was either incredible sweet or naïve. Maybe both.

"Thank you for trying to protect Ponyville" said Princess Celestia.

Now that she was up close I could sense that this Pony Planeswalker was mostly a White Mana user, but not completely, and that was good as Planeswalkers who only used one kind of Mana tended to go crazy, even those who devoted themselves to only two kinds were often a little crazy.

Princesses Luna was mostly a Blue/Black Mana user, but she didn't seem to be evil, which wasn't that odd as using Black Mana didn't make a Planeswalker evil. The corruption came from only using it and also from using for the wrong reasons.

"Why did you come to _Equestria"_ the smaller princess wanted to know.

It took me a few moments to answer, not because I wanted to formulate a lie but because my ribs still hurt. Although now it more of a soreness than a stabbing pain.

"I didn't plan to come here" I told the royals "I was in the Blinding Eternities and I wanted to get out. I only just became a Planeswalker so I don't how to control my Walking power".

Actually I was pretty sure I could, but theory and practice were often very different things. Plus I knew I didn't have the power needed to planes walk just yet. I needed a few days at least before I would risk it.

"Then you must come to Canterlot" Celestia insisted "This is a very dangerous time for you, and you must learn to control your vast powers otherwise you might end up harming yourself or others".

This was true I realised. If my Fireball had been deflected into the ground, rather than into the sky, to detonate as a harmless firework, then many ponies could have been harmed.

"And while I'm sure Ponyville has a wonderful library" said Luna "No where in all _Equestria_ has a better collection of magical texts than Canterlot".

While I was sure this invitation was about me being somewhere the princesses could keep an eye on me I was grateful for it as I had much to learn about magic as well other things.

"I will your highness" I assured Celestia.

Soon after that we all parted ways and I returned to my room in the Library where a wary Twilight thanked me for my all I had done that day before retiring to bed.

Since I too needed some rest I headed to my room, and moments after my head met the pillow I closed my eyes. Sleep came to me not long after.

(Line Break)

Things might be rather pleasant and peaceful in Ponyville, at least when big star bear things weren't around, but it wasn't a Utopia, things cost money, such as carriage rides to Canterlot.

I really needed to get a handle on this magic thing, and the area I was in was tapped out of Mana, at least for now, so I needed to move and go somewhere I could actually learn things. Besides the Princesses had been rather insistent.

Thankfully while this wasn't a Utopia, it was close enough, and the ponies were always ready to help each other out, or at least help you to help yourself. In this case Applejack had offered to pay for my fare if I helped out on farm.

"Phew, you really flew when that critter caught hold of ya!" the female Earth pony said as we loaded applies in a barrel "you're made of some real stern stuff".

My body did all the things a body could, but it wasn't a natural meat suit. It was made up of Spark, or had been created by my Spark, either way I wasn't exactly mortal. Clearly I felt pain, but I hadn't broken anything and I didn't think it was due to luck.

"Your concern for my well being is touching" I commented.

Applejack smiled at me.

"What?" she asked "You ain't hurt, I can make fun of ya!"

I decided then to pay attention to a large male pony who looked as if he didn't talk much.

"Good morning" I greeted "By the looks of things last antics didn't stop you from getting a goodnight's sleep".

The ponies on the farm all look well rested. I was not.

"Nope" the big pony said.

I was actually happy about this guy not saying much as at least it meant he wouldn't make fun of me.

"Do you hear about last night?" I inquired.

An answer soon came my way.

"Eeyup" the pony said.

I had another question.

"Do you have any idea why the appearance of a giant star bear didn't send everyone running for the hills?" I inquired "Nopony else seems even remotely concerned about there being monsters nearby".

If this had been a human settlement everyone would have either left or they'd be building a wall around the town to keep out the scary things. Here they all just got on with things as if nothing had happened.

"Ain't none of my business" said the large pony shrugged "And don't forget we live right on the edge of the Everfree forest, All kinds of strange critters in there".

Now I was very glad I'd not gone into the woods.

"Including giant space bears" I muttered.

The thrilling conservationist decided to get on with his work, and Applejack enlisted me to help him.

"So all I have to do is carry a cartload of apples into town" I asked.

Again I got an answer rather quickly.

"Eeyup" he said.

I figured that this was going to be a long day.

"And what are you doing?" I wanted to know.

Once more the answer was direct in reaching my ears.

"Carryin' a cartload o' apples into town" I was told.

I sighed, as I considered my lot in life. I was being with god like power who had been reduced to the status of beast of burden due to a Mana shortage and the lack of thumbs.

"Show me how to pull the wagon, and we'll go" I said.

I really needed to get magical education sorted out.

"Eeyup" said the pony.

I didn't know if he'd my read thoughts or was just confirming that he would show me what do, but I doubted he was a mind reader because if he had been he'd be very upset about the few seconds of dark thoughts I was having that involved mastering my powers and burning Ponyville to the ground.


	4. Canterlot

**Author Note.**

Not a great chapter, but I have a fun two part chapter coming up.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Library. Canterlot.**

In the fading light of the evening, I squinted at a book of spells as I used my new tk powers, which I could use thanks to the unicorn horn that I had in the form, to turn the pages of the book.

Currently I was perched on a very soft tasselled velvet pillow beside the wide windows of the palace's library, and I was surrounded by a stack of books, a nice cup of tea, a few spare quills, a small bottle of ink, and a pile of parchment. Also there was half-finished plate of chocolate chip cookies made earlier in the evening by the palace chefs lay mostly forgotten on a nearby table, although I would get around to them sooner or later.

For now my attention was focused solely on the book hovering in front of me, also with my tk powers, all other concerns had been pushed from my mind.

Moments later I magically tossed the book over my shoulder with a growl of annoyance, but as soon as I did I thought better of that and caught the precious volume before it hit the ground.

I couldn't risk damaging the Princess's valuable collection. Not after Princess Celestia had chosen to take me as a student. Plus she was very powerful and might do horrible thing to me if I damaged her property, people and ponies could get a little mad over books.

As to why her highness had taken me under her wing, although not literally as that would be weird, I figured she and her sister wanted to keep an eye on me. I was a potential problem for them, perhaps even an enemy, and as the saying goes: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

More likely they just wanted to me close by so that I wouldn't go off and try to learn magic from anyone troublesome. Trixie must have picked up her tricks from somewhere so there had to be other teachers of magic around here, and I doubted all of them were nice people.

So far all the books I had chosen had proved to be inadequate to the task of giving me the kind of power a Planeswalker should have. Sure I'd learned a few things, like moving things with magic, and creating light with magic, but I was eager for greater things.

I then glanced across the room to the high bookshelves that held the pony world's greatest works on the art of magic. The shelves in this wing of the library, which was totally dedicated to magic, had been built into the walls, in order to leave a round open space in the center of the room.

As I seen during my weeks here, this place was often used by the unicorn students as a quiet place to study, and by the teachers as a place to have the quieter lessons.

In the evenings, it was closed to all but the palace staff, who cleaned up the mess made by visitors and the Princess herself. And, of course, her chosen student. Few ponies, I figured had the privilege of watching the sunset through the magnificent window that made up nearly an entire side of the room.

The rest of the library also contained many open spaces, but none as beautiful as that one. The wide perch by the window put me far above the library floor, giving me a private space even when other students were in the room. I preferred being alone with the books, it was so much easier to focus.

Carefully I selected a volume from the high shelf and pulled it across the room with my magic. The heavy tome drifted into position, narrowly missing knocking over my cup of tea. When I flipped it open to a page already bookmarked with a scrap of parchment. I became very curious at this point.

I glanced at the diagram and scrawled a few words onto a scroll, then I flipped to a second bookmarked page and stared intently at the minuscule text of a treatise on the proper use of magic.

Pausing, I took a sip of the tea, which I was keeping warm with a bit of unicorn magic, then I wrote a sentence down with a floating gray quill that glowed with magic as it moved across the paper.

Once that was done I took a look over my notes. It was a list of spells that I'd come across, some would be researched in more detail later while others were just there because they'd amused me.

 _Growing Magic_

 _Description: Produces a thick moustache on the face of the target._

 _Light_

 _Description: Produces a small but reasonably bright point of light at the tip of the pony's horn. Used for navigating dark areas like caves._

 _Lullaby_

 _Description: Used to lull the target to sleep, like annoying children_

 _Rope Charmer_

 _Description: A spell that allows the user to manipulate a rope into lassoing and grabbing objects_

That was what Trixie had tried to use on the Ursa Major or Minor or whatever it was called. At the time I'd thought it was an enchanted item that she'd used. I'd been wrong about that.

 _Summon: Door_

 _Description: A summon spell which produces a door in front of the target. Used to make a point, as one can simply walk around or open said door._

 _Telekinesis_

 _Description: A general purpose spell to essentially replaces hands._

 _Thundershock_

 _Produces a small storm cloud that sends a small bolt of lightning at the target that does little or no actual damage_

 _Turn to Grass_

 _Description: Recolours the targets mane green and inserts things like sticks and worms. This might work on human hair._

 _Zippermouth_

 _Description: Produces a zipper that closes the mouth of the target. Used to make a point as it can easily be defeated by unzipping the mouth._

 _Shield_

 _Description: Produces a magical barrier around a pony or object that protects them or it from attack. Can be overwhelmed by a powerful attack._

That hand full of spells, only two of which I'd actually learned, tk and creating light were all I'd found. There were more I wanted to learn, but as of yet I'd not found the books that contained those spells as there were hundreds to go through. I'd made careful note of the book the spells I had listened could be found in and would get back to them later. Despite my urge for god like power, I wasn't in any rush.

While slowly lowering the quill with my tk I turned to the window. Right now the sun was slipping below the horizon in a blaze of gold. I took a few moments to admire the Princess's work, she was like Ra the sun god, without her the sun would never rise and make its way across the sky.

Moments after the sunset was completed, magical lamps hung on the library walls flickered gently into life, bathing the room in a soft yellow glow, as I watched the day end.

After a few minutes, the moon drifted up the dark starry sky, directed by Princess Luna's magic. Here the sun and moon always rose and set on schedule. The weather was planned weeks in advance and each forecast was expertly performed by the weather pegasi exactly when and where it was needed.

I went back to my notes. I wasn't just interested in spells I wanted to study the cultures I interacted with. There wasn't much point being an explorer of the multi-verse if you didn't

 _Unicorns are one of several kinds of ponies that live in Equestria. They are characterised by their horns and their ability to perform magic. Earth ponies and Pegasi have passive forms of magic, but unicorns can actively perform magic. A common ability among unicorns is using telekinesis to levitate or move objects. The ability to cast other spells varies widely and sometimes depends on the unicorn's special talent. Unicorn magic requires concentration and effort, also in the case of most spells a line of sight is required._

 _When unicorns cast magic, it produces a coloured aura around their horns and any objects their magic affects. The colour of the glow is different among individuals, usually matching a prominent colour of their cutie mark or the colour of their eyes. This colour is distinctive to each unicorn, and changes in it can indicate when something is amiss._

My glow was a dark silvery colour. Matching the colour of my body in this form.

 _Earth ponies tend to crops, care for plants and animals. They have a magically ingrained connection to the earth that makes them better at working with plants and animals._

Fluttershy, a Pegasus whose special talent involved working with animals, was something of an exception to the rule it seemed.

 _Pegasus ponies frequently alter the weather, they clear the clouds from the sky, and they build up clouds to arrange a storm. Snowflakes and rainbows are made in a Pegasus-run weather factory in Cloudsdale. Pegasus ponies have worked together to create a hurricane that lifted water from a reservoir up to Cloudsdale._

 _Non-Pegasus ponies require a magic spell to be able to walk on clouds, while Pegasus ponies naturally possess this ability, birds and other winged creatures walk on clouds, too._

 _Some Pegasus ponies create weather-related wakes when they perform aerial acrobatics._

As proven by Rainbow Dash, she'd created rainbows several times during the cartoon show. That much I recalled.

 _Other Pegasus ponies, like the Wonderbolts, leave smoke with lightning in their wake._

Once I got to somewhere with tech I as going to put all the information I had gathered so far onto a portable computer, so that when I needed something that wasn't practical to carry around, or if I needed a spell I hadn't figured out, I would know where to get it from. I also wanted information on the places I visited just in case I forgot something important about those worlds.

An example of this was the carefully taking down details of magical items, I had no intention of stealing from the ponies, but there might come a day when I'd need to borrow something enchanted to make use of it. As such I'd taken notes on every magical object that was mentioned in the library, or at least some of them as I hadn't read the whole library yet.

 _The Crystal Mirror acts as a gateway to the human world that opens once every "thirty" moons. The gateway back to Equestria is behind the horse statue in front of Canterlot High School. On the third day, when the moon reaches the peak of the night sky, the portal closes, not to open again for another thirty moons._

Since I was a Planeswalker I had no use for the mirror, but it was still cool to read about. And the artifacts they had here were in man ways better than the ones I could create. Although I was greatly impressed by the silliness of the Rod of Spanking artifact.

I yawned, then turned back to the various books and papers before doing more writing. The quill moved steadily across the paper, sometimes hanging in the air while I read from a book and added to my notes.

After a while, the text began to blur before my eyes and I struggled to keep the quill aloft. I gave up and let my mind wander to the matter of Marna.

Canterlot was like a fountain of white mana, it wasn't limitless, but I getting more of it then I should. I didn't know why, and it wasn't totally a good thing as I needed other kinds of mana as well.

My inbuilt knowledge told me that I could 'tap' lands that I controlled, and I cards that could create land, but I didn't think it was a good idea to create a volcano in someone elses kingdom just because I wanted some red mana.

Thankfully I had way around that, land I controlled could also be land I owned, as in legally owned. They had feudal system, and that meant land owning ponies who might sell to me. I could make magical artifacts of my own using my deck of cards, and then sell them for the local currency, which I would then use to by land, it was simple.

Knowing that I was too tired to read or plan further I got up, and tided away my stuff.

I was just about to head for bed when Princess Celestia entered the library.

"Good you're here" she said.

I was always in here. I'd rarely been out of the library. I loved books, if I'd arrived at Hogwarts rather than here, and had been the right age, I'd have been sorted into Ravenclaw for sure.

"Greetings, your highness" I replied.

It paid to be polite to royalty, they were less likely to chop your head off that way. Not that Princess Celestia would do such a thing, but there other ways for royal types to show their wrath.

"I have a task for you" her highness told me "I want you to return to Ponyville and deliver a message for me to Twilight Sparkle. Once you have the read message to her you'll know what to do next".

This seemed odd because I remembered correctly the dragon Spike, who while being a self aware creature was more or less a pet to Twilight Sparkle, could be used to send messages between Princess Celestia and Twilight.

"As you wish your highness" was all I said on the matter.

Princess Celestia was very old, very wise, and powerful, if she did something it was a reason, and an important one. So if she wanted me to play messenger I would. Plus Twilight could be of aid to me in my studies so that was another reason to go.


	5. The Wedding 1

**Reviews**

 **Yinko**

The cards are very powerful and I plan for him to get blank cards that Planeswalker Gothic can fill with whatever he wants letting him take things and even people with him to other planes.

Killing Twilight Sparkle would pretty doom all the ponies, and she just so nice. How could anyone hurt her. You monster.

Also getting killed can trigger a Planeswalker Spark so it would rather counter productive if the plan is stop her from being unleashed upon the multi-verse.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **The Wedding Part 1**

 **Twilight's Home. Ponyville.**

As I left the land of dreams I began hearing some soft voices around me, even a few giggles.

Slowly I rolled over, dreading what was to come. I knew that I was being watched, and that something was happening. No doubt something girly and cute.

I slowly began opening my eyes. My vision was a bit blurry, but as I opened them more, it cleared up. There I saw all the fillies: Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

"SURPRISE!" They all exclaimed, startling and causing me to jolt up right in bed, which not easy when you had four legs "Its your welcome back day of fun!".

At this point I was still a bit confused, and as I looked at all of the ponies smiling brightly at me the confusion didn't lessen.

"It's your welcome back party" Twilight announced cheerfully "Well day of fun, which could be the same thing".

This required some thought.

"I wasn't gone that long" I said.

Sure I'd left this town so I could study at Canterlot and I'd come back to Ponyville, but my return didn't warrant a party. I was only staying long enough to deliver a message, and while Princess Celeste could have sent the message using magic she had chosen me for a good reason. I had no idea what that reason was, but I knew she had one, and since she was giving me free magic lessons, as well as access to her library, it would have been rude not to do her a favour.

"Darling, you know Pinkie Pie." Rarity responded. "Any excuse to make a fuss over people".

That did sound like her.

"Yep!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Come on! Get up so start having fun".

Currently the ponies were looking at me in a way that would have looked scary if they'd been a meat eating species.

"Yeah, Gothic!" Applejack shouted "What do ya wanna do?

What followed was many suggestions, and I picked the one that was least likely to make me beg for death.

(Line Break)

Soon the six ponies and I found the perfect spot in the park for our picnic. The area was covered in grass, well almost, there were different coloured flowers around and nearby, there was a stream of water. This was a place rich in green mana, which was mood for me as Canterlot was all white mana and using too much of one type of mana was bad for Planeswalkers, this I knew in my gut.

The fillies and I began setting up the picnic basket, along with the food and drink. There was juice and ice tea for the drinks. For the food, we had, sandwiches, fruits, and some sweets thing. Pinkie Pie had provided the ice tea, somehow she'd just been able to provide it.

I looked around me to see the beautiful scenery that was perfect for this kind of day out. I could see a couple of butterflies, pink and sunny yellow, fly past us as we higher life forms enjoyed our food. I sat next to Twilight and Rarity, actually they sat on either side of me. I wondered if that meant something.

"Ahh!" Rarity expressed out loud. "It is gorgeous out".

I nodded my head in agreement before realising something.

"Oh the message!" I almost shouted "I was suppose to read it to you".

I'd forgotten about it even though it was important. I would have handed to Twilight last night only by the time I'd gotten to her place it had been very late. I'd just gone right to bed.

"Dear Twilight, I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot."

That was as far as I got before someone else spoke.

"Wedding?" the purple unicorn asked.

Since no one had more information than myself. I provided some.

"I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music."

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed softly "What an honour!"

I had a feeling that reading this out loud would take a while.

"Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception"

Well I could.

"Hip, hip, hooray!" Pinkie cheered, while doing a cartwheel.

"Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception.

"I'm as pleased as punch!" Applejack stated.

"Rainbow Dash .I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a sonic rainboom as the bride and groom complete their I do's"

I wondered if the sonic rainboom looked as impressive in real life as it did in the cartoon.

"Yes!" I then heard Dash cheer.

"Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids."

Rarity widened her eyes in shock

"Princess Celestia wants me to...For a Canterlot wedding..." the unicorn struggled to say.

And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: Making sure that everything goes as exactly as planned. See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia".

"But... I don't understand. Who's getting married?" She asked.

As I look through the package the letter had been in I found seven invite cards.

"Someone called Shining Armor and Princess I Love Cadence" I said, before wondering something "How many princesses to have in this plane?"

Rarity leaned over.

"It says Mi Amore Cadenza" she corrected.

I figured that Planeswalkers such as myself came with some kind of inbuilt translator, to go a long with the shape shifting, that made it much easier to blend in the with the locals. At least most of the time.

"My brother?" Twilight then muttered

We all turned to her.

"It's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. He's my B.B.B.F.F!" Sparkle told us.

The fillies and I responded to that with questioning looks.

"Big Brother Best Friend Forever" she said.

Apparently that was some kind of answer to the unasked question.

"Before I came here and learned the importance of friendship, Shining Armor was the only pony I really accepted as a friend" Twilight explained as she stood up.

Then for some reason she started singing.

 _"When I was just a filly, I found it rather silly_

 _To see how many other ponies I could meet_

 _I had my books to read, didn't know that I would ever need_

 _Other ponies to make my life complete_

 _But there was one colt that I cared for_

 _I knew he would be there for me_

 _My big brother, best friend forever!_

 _Like two peas in a pod, we did everything together_

 _He taught me how to fly a kite (Best friend forever!)_

 _We never had a single fight (We did everything together!)_

 _We shared our hopes, we shared our dreams_

 _I miss him more than I realised_

 _It seems_

At this point was just looking around wondering when the entire world had turned into a musical. A backing track was somehow being provided, which was even more strange.

 _"Your big brother, best friend forever"_

 _The rest of the ponies were now singing along._

 _"Like two peas in a pod, you did everything together"_

How did they know the words?

 _"And though he's, oh, so far away"_ Twilight continued.

 _"I hoped that he would stay" ._

 _"My big brother best friend_

 _Forever..._

 _Forever..."_

And with that it ended, and I just sat there on the grass, watching as everything went back to normal.

"I think your brother sounds like a real good guy" Applejack was now saying.

The ponies were acting as if nothing strange had just happened. It was all very odd.

"He is pretty special" Twilight replied "I mean, they don't let just any pony be Captain of the Royal Guard".

The Royal Guard protected Canterlot and the Princesses Celestia and her sister Princess Luna. Although I did wonder what in this world could threaten Planeswalkers with their power and experience. Even the Elements of Harmony couldn't harm them, or at least that was my studies had led me to conclude.

"So let me get this straight." Rarity said to Twilight. "We're helping out with the wedding of not only a princess, but a Captain of the Royal Guard?"

I would have thought that Princess would be more important that a Captain, but upon thinking about it I realised that while this realm had a few princesses there was only one Captain of the Royal Guard.

"Yeah I guess we are..." Twilight muttered.

She did not seem happy that her brother was getting married. I didn't think it was jealousy, which could be caused by her fear of another pony taking her place in their brother's heart, this seemed to be something else. Perhaps she was upset because she hadn't found out about the wedding from her brother.

"Gothic, what's wrong? You're supposed to be happy" Rarity was now saying.

I gave the fashion loving pony a smile before turning to Twilight.

"You've never mentioned a brother before" I said "I've got two little brothers and two little sisters, so I know about siblings".

What I would odd about that was my complete lack of concern over them. Perhaps becoming a Planeswalker had changed me in ways both noticeable and subtle

"Well..." Twilight began to say.

Rainbow Dash suddenly interrupted

"What are you guys doing? Come on! We have to get to Canterlot right away!" she urged.

Twilight gave her friend an irritated expression.

"Rainbow, we haven't even finished the picnic yet. It wouldn't be fair to Gothic to leave now" she said.

Somehow I doubted this was the reason Sparkle wanted to stay, and soon after as we packed up the picnic Twilight began to talk more on the subject. Sharing her feelings.

"Ever since I moved to Ponyville we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this 'Princess Mi Amore, we'll probably never see each other" she said.

I had a sister who was married with children, and it had been rare for me to see her. However that was not something I was going to mention.

"Come on, now. You're his sister. He'll always make time for you" I assured the unicorn.

She wasn't so easily soothed.

"Couldn't seem to make the time to tell me he was getting married." Twilight grumbled

That was when Applejack leaned in.

"You're our friend, and we'll do anythin' to make you happy" she promised.

Twilight managed to smile a bit upon hearing that.

"Thanks, Applejack" she said.

They were sweet ponies, I just wished that they gave out some sort of warning when they started singing.

(Line Break)

Canterlot.

Not long after arriving I was summoned by Princess Celestia, who had a task for me, currently she was looking through a telescope with a great amount of focus, so much so that she failed to notice that I had entered the room.

"Your highness!" I called out, just loudly enough to get her attention.

She pulled away from the telescope and turned around to face me.

"Oh, Gothic I'm glad you're here" she said.

She sounded as if she really, really, meant that.

"Is something the matter, your highness?" I asked.

Most ponies just called her Princess Celestia, but I called her highness as she was deserving of being addressed correctly.

"You may have noticed a higher increase in security around Canterlot" the Planeswalker pony said to me.

I had actually. I'd assumed it was connected the wedding. Security for the princess and all that.

"It has nothing to do with the wedding" Princess Celeste stated.

Now I was surprised.

"What do you mean?" I asked, becoming concerned.

The Princess moved back towards the telescope and I followed.

"A threat has been made against Canterlot" I was told "and we don't know who's responsible for it. That's why I asked Shining Armor, Twilight's brother, to provide additional protection.

Her Highness then gestured me to follow her out on the balcony.

"Do you see that magic bubble around the town?" she asked.

It was a large shield. I could create one around myself by channelling some of my power through my horn. Given that I didn't have a horn in human form I wondered how I would use unicorn magic without out one. Either I'd use my hands or I'd have to get a staff or even a wand.

"I do" I told Princess Celeste.

The Princess then gestured for me to use the telescope.

"Look closer" she instructed.

I turned my attention from her towards the magic bubble. Suddenly, I saw something being shot upwards towards the bubble. It looked to be some kind of magic and it combined with the bubble, reinforcing the protection.

"That was Shining Armor's protection spell" the princess explained once I had stopped looking at the shield " If it wasn't for it, we'd probably be much more vulnerable and would have to cancel the wedding".

I was a little shocked as this realm was very peaceful. The Princesses Celestia and Luna had created it after all, so their should be anything here that they didn't wish to be here.

Not unless something or someone had found a way to enter this realm as I had, but that would be very unlikely as not many things could traverse the multiverse like a Planeswalker could. Sure there were portals or rifts, and such, but they were very complex and required a lot of power.

"What could threatened Canterlot, your highness?" I asked "With both yourself and Princess Luna it must be safe".

They'd made this realm. Princess Celestia literally made the sun rise. She was a goddess, as was her sister.

"I didn't tell you this because I was ensure how much I could trust you" her highness said "but I will need your help so you should know that some time ago something happened to all Planeswalkers, for reasons I don't understand both Luna and I have lost some of our power".

This was another shocking bit of news.

"Much of our power now is invested in keeping this realm from falling apart" I was now being told "Luna and I have also lost our immortality, thankfully we have ways of keeping ourselves alive for many centuries to come and my hope is that when she's ready Twilight will be able to join us in keeping this realm together. Its also why I wanted to Elements of Harmony to be brought back together. I knew that with the loss of some of our power that the ponies would be in danger".

I had many questions at this point.

"When did this change happen?" I asked.

I was soon given an answer.

"Not long before Luna was freed" Princess Celestia informed "Luna was less effected by the change that I was, I suspect this was because she hadn't used her powers for so long. I am also sure that all Planeswalker have been effect. You did not ascend until after the change, and since your different than other Planeswalkers you may not be mortal. I really don't know".

While that did explain the need for a shield I had to wonder if Celestia was lying, at least a little, if she still make the sun rise then protecting a castle should be no trouble. I wondered if she letting other ponies take some of the slack not because they needed to, but because Celestia wanted give the chance to grow.

On the other hand I had noted during my studies that things were not as peaceful here as they had been the past. Perhaps something had changed in the nature of the realm and those that ruled it.

That was a lot to take in, so I decided to distract myself now and to think about other things later.

"What threat is there?" was my next question.

The answer was not helpful.

"I'm ensure" the royal pony said.

Something was off about that, she should know.

"Who is this Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" I then asked the Planeswalker

Princess Celeste smiled.

"She's my niece" I was told.

Now I was confused as the princess was very old and would have outlived her mortal family. Princess Luna was her sister, but not in the biological sense, and didn't have any children. Planeswalkers couldn't have children as far as I knew. Although that could have changed when being a Planeswalker changed. I really didn't know enough to be sure.

"Your niece…?" I asked, slowly.

Princess Celestia smiled warmly now.

"Why don't you go meet her and Shining Armor? I'm sure you'll like them both" her highness was now saying "and if you like you could summon up an artifact as a Wedding Present. I'm sure they be grateful for such a treasure".

Well that was a good idea.

"But what about the task you wanted to assign me?" I wondered.

I'd forgotten for a moment that I'd been summoned because the Princess had a task for me. She didn't normally tell people what to do, she just sort of requested and people obeyed.

"For now I just wanted to let you know about the possible threat we're dealing with" her highness said "And to ask if you see or feel anything suspicious, let me know, or tell Princess Luna if you feel something during the night. I want you to be aware and not let your guard down. Otherwise, enjoy the wedding and feel free to help the others with their tasks".

That seemed simple enough.

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out, Princess Celestia." I bowed and began walking out.

(Line Break)

"Oh, Gothic Hey!" someone called out not longer after I'd left the Princess.

I turned to see a familiar face.

"Hey, Twilight" I greeted.

I looked past her to see her an older unicorn. He wore fancy armour so it wasn't hard to guess who he was.

"Is this your brother?" I asked.

Twilight turned between the two of us.

"Shining Armor, this is Gothic. Gothic, this is Shining Armor" she introduced us.

We shook hooves.

"Haven't I seen you around before?" the captain asked.

I didn't remember seeing this unicorn, but until now I'd not left the library much while in Canterlot.

"Maybe" I replied "I have been here before. I'm studying magic under Princess Celestia and Princess Luna".

This seemed to impress the unicorn.

"Y'know, Twilight has told me so much about you in her letters" Shining Armor said "She thinks very highly of you".

Not that I had any idea why, I hadn't done anything worthy of note, and Sparkle was hiding her face so I figured she wouldn't explain. Although her hiding her face was a bit of a clue.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," a pony I who I didn't know said

Slowly I turned around to see a pink pony. She wore a golden necklace, and her mane consisted of a variety of colours. She also wore a tiara on her head. The most important features were that she had both a horn and wings. That meant she was an Alicorn, and therefore a princess. This world had a sort of caste system with  
Alicorns at the top.

"Hey, Cadence!" Twilight yelled out as she rushed over to the princess. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Cadence observed her for a moment.

"What are you doing?" she asked with an expression that was mostly confusion and a hint of disgust.

Twilight frowned, and I felt a moment of empathy for her.

"Cadence, it's me, Twilight!" she said.

Now I was confused again. I hadn't even known that Sparkle knew her future sister-in-law. Perhaps she'd been paying attention when I'd spoken the name after her brother's.

"I've gotta get back to my station," Shining Armor announced. "But Cadence will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you girls here. Right, dear?".

Twilight's brother didn't seen to notice that his soon to be wife was acting hostile towards his sister.

"Absolutely" the Alicorn agreed.

When she looked directly at me it sent some chills up and down my spine. Something was off about that pony.

"Well, we'll let you get to it." Shining Armor stated and began walking away with Princess Cadence.

At this point I badly wanted some answers.

"You know her?" I asked Twilight.

The unicorn nodded.

"She used to be my foal sitter when I was little. Now, she acts like she doesn't even remember me, and she doesn't seem as friendly as she was before" Sparkle told me.

I was sure that Twilight not mentioned knowing Cadence before now. Then again maybe I just hadn't been paying attention I had been studying a lot.

Let's just go check up on Applejack" the purple unicorn was now saying.

That meant going to where there was food, I approved of this.

(Line Break)

When Twilight and I entered the kitchen, we could see several ponies creating the desserts for the wedding. Applejack spotted us and walked up to us.

"Hiya, Gothic. Hey Twilight" she greeted.

Twilight didn't respond, so I decided to speak instead.

"Hey, Applejack." I replied.

There was an energetic buzz around the place I was now noticing. The upcoming wedding had people very excited.

I'm just putting the finishing touches on these beauties" Applejack told us as we were directed towards the desserts she was making "and I have samples if you want do a taste test".

Not long after taking a bit of something that was orgasmic to taste someone else entered the kitchen.

"Hiya, Princess!" Applejack called out.

When I turned I saw Cadence walking in the kitchen with a bored expression on her face.

"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza" she said as the other ponies bowed.

I did not bow, nor did Twilight.

"Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Applejack said. "You come to check out what's on the menu for your big day?".

I really didn't like this Cadence, there was something wrong about her, the feeling was not fading.

"Indeed I have" the princess stated.

Applejack grabbed the tray of those orgasmic tasting apple fritters and turned around to present them to the princess. Cadence grabbed one with her magic and took a bite.

"Delicious!" declared the princess.

Something about her attitude seemed wrong. I figured she was acting the part of happy bride to be. I just didn't know why. Perhaps she was marrying for money or social status, and didn't care about the actual wedding.

"Aw, shucks. Why don't you take a few to go?" Applejack offered as she filled a bag with more of the treats.

When Cadence reached the door, she merely threw the fritters in the trash can and walked off.

"Did... you see what she..." Twilight asked me before turning to friend and speaking more clearly "Applejack, did you see what she did?"

The Earth Pony was too busy to talk right now.

"Sorry Twi." Applejack responded, while taking out a tray out of the oven. "I'm a little busy now. We'll talk later, okay?"

Twilight then turned to me.

"You saw that right?" she asked me "Please tell me saw that?".

I nodded.

"How could anyone throw away that yummy food?" I asked back.

Twilight sighed.

"Colts you always think with stomachs!" complained the unicorn.

Now I was offended.

"Hey I'm a stallion" I protested.

Twilight gave me an annoyed look.

"Let's just go check on Rarity" she said.

That was fine with me as Rarity liked me, she didn't yell at me and call me a colt.


	6. The Wedding 2

Planeswalker Gothic

The Wedding Part 2

When we found Rarity she was creating the dresses needed for the wedding, and we also found that the Princess had arrived a head of us.

"Your highness!" Rarity announced, quickly rushing over to her. "Let me just start by saying what an honour it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion."

Cadence seemed more annoyed with the attention than anything else.

"Is my dress ready?" she demanded to know.

Rarity walked over to the dress.

"Yes, of course. Um, I've been working on it for hours. I think you'll be pleased with the results!" the filly said.

Personally I thought the dress was lovely. Most wedding gowns tended to be over the top, as this dress was, but it was not too over the top.

"I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train" the princess said.

Rarity nodded her head, acting as if this was reasonable.

"Oh, yes, of course" the unicorn agreed.

I didn't see what difference it would make.

"And those should be a different colour." Cadence said while checking out the bridesmaids' dresses.

With that she simply left.

"Gee, maybe her name should be 'Princess Demandy-pants'" Twilight whispered to me.

I could not disagree.

(Line Break)

Twilight eventually led me towards the party hall, which was used for the Grand Galloping Gala every year as well as other social events. The party hall was decorated with fun accessories, such as balloons and streamers. It seemed that Cadence had again already arrived there before us as we saw her discussing some things with Pinkie Pie.

"Okay, let me see." Pinkie was saying. "We've been over the games..."

She rushed towards a nearby game board and rattled the dice in her hooves, smiling brightly as they landed on the board. I also noticed a 'pin the tail on the pony' poster near the wall as well as a bouncy castle of all things.

"The dances" was what she said next.

She began doing the chicken dance near a music player.

"I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?" Pinkie asked.

Somehow I didn't think the Princess would agree.

"Perfect, if we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday!" Cadence shouted.

To be fair it did look more like a children's event than an adult one, but the way Cadence had raised that point was wrong as it made Pinkie Pie cry, which had to be the saddest sight in all of pony history. Yet the Princess just walked away as if nothing at all was wrong. As soon as she was gone Twilight and I moved over the comfort the pony.

(Line Break)

By evening the fillies and I were in what passed for a pub in this world. The strongest thing they served was apple cider, but it was giving me a nice buzz so I was planning on drinking more of it. Even though I was suppose to be keeping an eye on things.

It seemed odd to me that strong drink was served in a place that had immature ponies in it, but upon thinking about I realised that there wasn't much danger of young ponies getting drunk. Booze, like other drugs, were a means of escape, a way to forget about your problems for a while. People hear had problems, but they didn't feel the need to escape them, things tended to get sorted out in short order.

"I can guess what you're all thinking!" Twilight announced to the whole table "Cadence is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever".

This was not something I would argue with. She was what back home we'd call a Bridezilla.

"Twilight, whatever are you talking about?" Rarity asked between ships of her drink "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is an absolute darling!"

Her reality was not the reality Sparkle and I shared.

"Rarity, she was so demanding!" the purple unicorn pointed out.

This didn't seem to bother the fashion loving filly.

"Well of course she is!" Rarity said "Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?"

That did seem somewhat reasonable. Men, and as it turned out male ponies, just didn't understand why females made such a big deal about weddings. In my view they were tedious affairs, but it was normal for girls to go a bit loopy about their special day.

"Applejack, did you know that after she told you how much she just loved your fritters she threw them in the trash?" Twilight asked.

That was a crime in my view.

"Aw, she was probably just trying to spare my feelin's." Applejack responded.

Somehow I didn't think this was the case.

"No, she was just being fake, and totally insincere!" argued Twilight.

She then turned to another of her friends.

"Pinkie Pie, you had to have noticed how Cadence treated..."

The unicorn had at some point left the table and was now talking with another pony. She like my young niece back home didn't have much of attention span.

Then suddenly Twilight stood up and slammed her hoof on the table, causing her drink to spill.

"She doesn't deserve to marry him!" the unicorn declared.

I sighed as this had been the wrong thing to say.

"Think maybe you're being just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?" Rainbow Dash asked.

To make things worse, the rest of the girls agreed.

"I am not being possessive, and I am not taking it out on Cadence!" Twilight responded angrily. "You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding!"

Next she turned around and began storming away from us. No one seemed eager to go comfort her, so I decided that it would be my job.

(Line Break)

When I found Twilight I saw Cadence walking towards her. The Princess walked up to Twilight and began stroking her mane as the purple unicorn continued crying.

"I'm sorry" Sparkle said.

Slowly I backed away, not wanting to interfere, when suddenly, I saw Cadence's eyes shift to a light green for a split second. Then, she changed her expression to an evil one

"You will be" the princess said.

Then Cadence's horn was covered in green glow, and soon green flames began surrounding Twilight, trapping her in a circle. Twilight tried to break out, but the green flames had produced a green shield above her, completely trapping the unicorn. Then the sphere started to grow smaller until it vanished along with Sparkle.

At this point the Princess turned me, and before I could even reach for my cards I was too surrounded by greens flames, and teleported away.

(Line Break)

When I could see again I saw a familiar pony.

"Twilight!" I called out, causing her to immediately look around and see me.

She instantly stood up and ran over to me, wrapping her hooves around me and hugging me tightly.

"Gothic I'm so glad you're here! How did you even find me?" she asked "I just woke up down here".

I too felt as if I'd just woken up. A lot of time could have past, only I couldn't find out as I had no watch.

"Cadence transported me here the same way she did to you" I answered "I didn't have time to get my cards".

I really needed to spend more time studying unicorn magic. I should have been able to defend myself. Clearly I was not ready to travel the multi-verse.

"If you saw what happened, you could have tried to get some pony's help, but now you're both trapped here!" I heard the evil pony princess say "Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist, which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans."

Cadence laughed evilly, and it was sound that echoed throughout the cave.

"Plans? What plans?" Twilight asked desperately.

I couldn't see who was talking, but it was Cadence's voice.

"The plans I have for your brother, of course" she said.

This immediately caused Twilight to take an aggressive stance and intensify the glow on her horn.

"Don't you dare do anything to my brother, you... you monster!" she shouted.

Now that Twilight's horn was all lit up I could see that were in a cave that was lined with crystals. I noticed them as I reached for my cards, and I also noted that my Mox Diamonds, which I emptied earlier by creating some artifacts were now full of White Mana. These crystals had to be the source of all that power.

"Only way to stop me is to catch me!" the voice said as it faded away.

Which meant we needed to get out here.

(Line Break)

The first person... well pony, we found down here was the princess, only she didn't seem like herself. Not that this stopped Twilight from trying to blast the Alicorn with her magic.

"Please!" Cadence pleaded, holding her hooves to her head and closing her eyes "Don't hurt me!"

Something was wrong here, and thankfully Sparkle realised that before she blasted anyone.

"Twilight, it's me!" the alicorn called out.

There was green coloured shield keeping the Alicorn in place, but the purple unicorn was able to get rid of it.

"Please, you have to believe me. I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadence who brought you down here was an impostor" the Alicorn quickly explained.

That did explain a lot, not the Sparkle was convinced.

Cadence suddenly began dancing,

Sunshine. Sunshine. Ladybugs awake" the alicorn said while dancing "Clap your hooves..."

Twilight clapped her hoof with Cadence's and joined her in her song.

"...and do a little shake" they both finished.

Twilight stared at her for a moment and then grinned happily.

"You remember me!" she then said as threw herself at Cadence, wrapping her hooves around her.

Cadence returned the hug, which was a good sign.

"Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I so loved to sit for" replied the alicorn.

While that mushiness was going on I tried to find a way to get us out of here.

"I don't suppose you have any food?" the real Cadence asked

With my mind powers I moved a bag of apple fritters out of my pack, which was something I'd picked up to make it easy to carry things, and floated them over to the princess. She ate them with gusto.

"You didn't get those out of the trash did you?" Twilight asked with a whisper.

I decided not to admit that I had. Not they were unsafe to eat since they'd been a bag when thrown away.

"Sorry I'm not strong enough to fly us all out of her" the princess said, once she had finished eating "I could take Twilight perhaps".

That wasn't going to be an issue. I had loads of white mana, as Canterlot was soaked in the stuff.

With that in mind I summoned Serra Angel, who in this world took the form of a golden and white Pegasus, one that was more than strong enough to carry me out of here.

"Let's hurry" I said "and I'll explain about the summoning later"

(Line Break)

We were able to reach the wedding before it had really started, and given that it was happening that meant Twilight and I must have been out for hours when down in the caves.

"Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" the fake princess said while pretend sobbing. "Why does she have to ruin my special day?"

Then there was a lot of gasping.

"Because it's not your special day. It's mine!" the real Cadence corrected.

While people talking I used my unicorn powers to grab my cards.

"What?" The impostor asked, presenting a surprised expression "But how did you escape the caves!".

Those words caused everyone to look at the fake princess with very odd expressions as Twilight explained about freeing the real Cadence, and about flying out. Although she didn't mention how three ponies had flown out when only one of us had a set of wings.

"Hmph. Clever" the impostor commented "But you're still too late".

Too late for what I wondered.

"I-I don't understand. How can there be two of 'em?" Applejack questioned from her spot with the other girls.

That was a good question.

"She's a changeling!" Cadence explained, while walking a few more steps forward. "She takes the form of some pony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them."

The imposter's eyes immediately glowed green, along with her horn. Suddenly, a green wall of fire formed around her, then I saw her change. Both of her wings transformed into something insect-like. Her hooves formed into distorted ones. Her horn became dark and crooked. Her whole body changed in fact

When the transformation was done she flapped her wings rapidly and laughed evilly.

"Right you are, Princess. And as Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects" the shape shifter said "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered."

She spoke further as she began walking towards us.

"My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!" she declared.

Monsters that fed on love. The mutli verse was truly strange.

"They'll never get the chance!" Cadence responded confidently. "Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us."

Chrysalis chuckled.

"Oh, I doubt that. Isn't that right, dear?" she asked, while glancing over to Shining Armor.

He looked completely brainwashed. Cadence noticed this and gasped. She then began trying to run towards him, but Chrysalis immediately placed a hoof in front of her.

"Ah, ah, ah" the evil queen said, while producing a green glow on her horn, which made Cadence back away a little "Don't want to go back to the caves, now do you?".

In my experience it was best to let the bad guy, or girl in this case, tell you her whole evil plan before taking action so I did nothing other than look through my cards. I had lots of options due to all the white mana I currently had access to.

Normally land needed to sort of recharge before it could provide more energy, but Canterlot had more than enough white mana to supply me. Not that it was limitless so I would have to careful in my choice of cards to use.

"Ever since I took your place," Chrysalis continued "I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for you".

The evil queen moved over to Twilight's brother before saying anything else.

"Every moment that passes he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it" she said.

I couldn't see anything, but since they were shape shifters that didn't mean they weren't around.

"He may not be my husband," the nasty queen was now saying "But he is under my total control now".

This did not go down well.

"Not my Shining Armor!" Cadence expressed.

The evil creature ignored the outburst.

"Soon, my changeling army will break through. First, we take Canterlot" she shouted out while rising in to the air and flapping her wings "And then, all of Equestria!"

That was when someone else spoke.

"No" a strong voice stated "You won't."

Queen Chrysalis slowly landed back on the ground, and was now facing Princess Celestia.

"You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self. I can protect my subjects from you!" the Princess declared.

She rose in the air and began shooting out a beam of magic from her horn towards the queen. Chrysalis took notice of this and quickly counterattacked by shooting out a beam of her own.

Then the two beams clashed. At first it looked as Chrysalis was struggling with Celestia's magic, but then, unexpectedly, Chrysalis's beam was advancing towards Celestia at such a fast rate.

What I saw next was the Princess Celestia hitting the floor. A sight which made the crowd gasped.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed, while running towards her.

The other members of the mane six joined her as well.

"Ah! Shining Armor's love for you is even stronger than I thought!" Chrysalis stated "Consuming him has made me even more powerful than Celestia!".

When the other shape shifters started to attack I used my mox diamonds to power a very deadly spell: Wrath of God.

Its effect was to destroy all creatures, which is exactly what did every one of the monsters were destroyed as white ball of light appeared. It took mere seconds and by the end only the Queen was left. She had formed a shield to defend herself.

"What's wrong?" I asked, panting a bit due how taxing that had been "I thought you were more powerful than Celestia

Normally, I didn't taunt or provoke, but in this case, it just felt some damn good.

"Well come on then" I challenged "show me what you can do"

She growled and sprinted towards me to attack me. I readied my hooves and dodged to the side, stretching my rear hooves out and kicking her fiercely when she passed me, causing her to fall towards the floor in pain again. When I regained my balance, I rushed over to the monster.

"I've had enough of you! It's time to end this" I said, with an odd amount of righteousness in my voice.

Just as I managed to get over to the monster, she disappeared, and the entire wedding hall was soon covered in darkness. I couldn't see a thing. Still I looked around, trying to see if there was any sign of her, but it was no use

"Over here!" a voice shouted.

I turned around to see her, but right before I had time to react, she clenched my neck with her hoof and brought me to the floor. I was grunting and groaning in pain now as I struggled. I tried to escape by lifting my hoof to hit her. I tried get free, but all she did was laugh evilly. I didn't have much in the way of combat skills, and those I did have were for a human body, the move I'd made before hadn't been planned, it had just been luck.

"Not so powerful now are you" mocked the evil queen.

At this point I was thinking that I was about to find out about that whole mortality thing first hand, or hoof in this case.

"Once you're out of the way no will be able to stop me!" the leader of the changeling's declared.

Things soon became dark, very dark,

(Line Break) (POV Shift)

Twilight narrowed her eyes in anger and turned to face the queen.

"You won't get away with this!" she declared.

She was pretty sure that Gothic was dead, and this filled her with a rage she'd never felt before.

"Oh? Do you want to fight me too?" the queen asked, sounding entertained.

As far as she was concerned the only real threats had already been dealt with.

"Yes!" Twilight answered. "All of us will! For what you did to Gothic!"

The changeling smiled.

"Great idea" Queen Chrysalis replied. "Fighting. Yes! Let's do it. Whenever you're ready".

Twilight looked back at her friends.

"Are you ready, girls?" she asked.

They all were

"She'll pay!" Rainbow Dash responded aggressively.

The Pegasus clapped her hooves on the floor. Unable to stand still when she so badly wanted to move.

"Bring it on, then" Chrysalis provoked.

Which they would, she'd soon find out.

"Applejack!" Twilight called, getting Applejack's attention. "Get your lasso! Rarity! Get one of those curtains by the window! Pinkie! Get your party cannon! Rainbow! Have your hooves and wings ready! Fluttershy go see to Gothic"

The shy Pegasus did as she was told, as did the others.

"Come on, girls! We'll defeat her!" Twilight announced, receiving nods from them.

The changeling was still amused.

"Oh. I'm so scared." Chrysalis mocked.

Twilight and the other ponies took action.

"Applejack! Secure her with your rope!" Sparkle ordered.

With ease Applejack used her teeth to spin the rope and place it around the queen's body, tightening it so that she was unable to move.

"Rarity! Use the curtains and wrap them around her!" was the second command

Rarity used her magic to wrap the curtains all over the evil queen as she struggled with the rope.

"You fools!" the changeling growled angrily as she began making her horn glow.

Thankfully Sparkle was prepared for this.

"Pinkie!" Twilight called. "Use your party cannon to distract her!"

Pinkie Pie, angrily pulled the fuse of the cannon, which blew confetti and streamers all over the evil queen. They were shot out so forcefully that the changeling's head was thrown back by the impact and she was unable to finish her spell.

"Rainbow! Knock her out!" Twilight ordered.

The super fast Dash pulled back her hoof and punched Chrysalis, at such a speed that the move was a blur.

"Rainbow, let me finish this!" Sparkle then said.

Twilight rushed over to Chrysalis and began charging up her horn, which emitted a bright purple glow. However before Twilight could shoot it out, Chrysalis opened her eyes and used her magic to throw Twilight back. She then let lose another wave of magic that pushed the other fillies away from her.

"You mere ponies can't defeat me!" the royal changeling called out.

Then she began struggling to free herself from the rope and curtains.

(Line Break) (Pov Shift)

I grunted and groaned, struggling to push myself back up. Fluttershy tried to help me, but I weakly placed my hoof on her, telling her to not. I continued pushing myself up, feeling my hooves shake. But I still didn't give up.

When I looked around I realised that not much time had past, and that the mane six had manged to contain the shape shifter, at least for the moment. I also noted that my last bit of white mana had been used up. Perhaps to heal myself.

"I really suggest you just give up. Or you'll really suffer" the Queen was telling everyone.

Using my unicorn powers I lashed out just as the shape shifter managed to free herself. She hit the wall hard, but this barley seemed to phase the monster.

"Okay, now you're really annoying me!" the queen said with a snarl.

She shot a beams of magic at me, but I was able to form a shield, again use unicorn magic, I was pushed back a few steps, but I didn't fall.

"Why won't you give up!" Chrysalis shouted angrily.

After I'd recovered from her last attack, I continued to walk towards the evil queen. She growled and began to furiously shoot out many beams of magic at me, but they all met my shield.

"What are you?" Chrysalis demanded to know "You're nothing like this weak ponies!".

My answer was a simple one.

"I am a Planeswalker" I said.

Chrysalis slammed her hooves on the ground and became furious. She continued shooting out beams of magic towards me, but they did nothing against my shield.

My plan at this point was to get close enough to grab the changeling, once I had her I'd planeswalk and let the Void take care of her.

Only then something rather odd happened. Shining Armor must have woken up as the protection spell pushed Chrysalis out of Canterlot, literally. She ended up so far away that she disappeared into the sky.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again" I muttered.

After saying that I looked around to see that the wedding guest ponies were returning to the hall, not that I'd noticed them leaving, and that everyone had crowed around the Princess Celestia.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine." Princess Celestia announced to the crowd "Now every pony, you have a real wedding to put together"

That sent them all trotting off in different directions, and within seconds the ponies were putting the hall back in order. I wasn't sure if I should admire their work ethic or worry about how easily they could ignore the peril they'd just been in.

Princess Celestia nodded at a few ponies and then began walking towards me. She stopped in front of me to looked down at my leg.

"I see you've unlocked more of your true power" her highness stated.

Upon glancing down I noticed that I now seven mox diamonds rather than the normal six. I figured then that as I learned and did more magic I'd get more mox diamonds, which would allow me to use my cards more often.

"I'll be honest with you, Gothic" Princess Celestia said softly, causing me to look up towards her again. "I am quite surprised at this as well. I haven't seen such power in a very long time. You must be careful, and try not to draw upon the same colour of mana too often, it can have an effect on your mind".

Given that I had just wiped out a lot of bad guys with a single card, one that hadn't even used up that much mana, I understood what her highness meant. Also I hadn't considered the mortality of just killing them all. Sure it had been in defence of Canterlot, and it didn't feel wrong, but that fact that I hadn't even considered not using lethal force was worrying. White mana wasn't the same thing as light magic, I had to mix my mana up a little otherwise I might go crazy, or worse act all heroic all the time.

"Yeah, I guess so" I said.

That was something I could think about later, for now there was a wedding to set up, and then to attend. Worries could wait for a few hours. Plus I was hungry again, I'd given away my snacks, so the sooner the party started the better in my opinion.

With that in mind I went about helping to put the hall back in order.


	7. Empire 1

**Author Note**

Most of this chapter and all of the following was written by Takao-kun with some editing by myself.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Crystal Empire 1**

 **Princess Luna's Chambers. Canterlot.**

Ever since I had played a major role in saving this kingdom from the changelings, things had changed for me. I was no longer just some guest who stayed in the castle. I happened to be a hero, and now everyone knew who I was.

Also I had a minor title, that of Baron, there were many rankings for nobles in this world not just prince and princess. I owned some land, and I planned to buy more. I didn't have to own the land to tap into its mana, a physical connection to the land was enough, like say standing on it, but to tap into the mana of land far away required some sort of connection. Legal ownership did connect me to some land.

I was even spending more time with the Princesses these days, although mostly Princess Luna as her sister was a busy pony. Also Princess Luna requested to spend time with me, she didn't order it. She didn't have to.

Ponies of all kinds nodded respectfully to me as I passed them by in hallway, and I was sure I had some mares admiring me. I wasn't sure what to do about that I didn't understand how courting worked in this world.

I did understand that Ponies fell in love, got married, and had kids, but I didn't know if they ever dated causally or if they mated for life. If it was the later then starting a romance with a mare would be wrong as I didn't intend to stay in this realm in the long term.

As I moved through the part of the palace that was home to the Princess of Night, Luna's guards kept an eye on me. They were very much unlike other ponies, they had dark gray coats, bat wings, tufted ears, and cat-like vertical slits for pupils. Also they wore lavender-coloured armour rather than golden suits.

From what I'd read they were kind of Pegasi, and they came from deep caves inside the mountains. If they had cutie marks I couldn't see them as their armour covered that part of their body. Since the Princess Luna had returned to Canterlot these ponies had been seen around the castle more and more.

"Ah Gothic, there you are" Princess Luna said as she turned away from the window "I was just making the moon rise".

In my world that would sound crazy, here was a fact. She made the moon rise. I had considered the possibility that the Princesses really just made the world turn, so that it looked as if they made the sun and moon rise and fall, but it made little difference if that was so as controlling the turning of a world was still bloody impressive.

"Good job" I praised, not sure what else to say.

It was easier to relax around Princess Celestia, despite the fact that she was bigger and powerful than everyone around her, than it was around Princess Luna, who was more mysterious and dangerous.

Still she was a good teacher, she used black and blue mana, more blue than black these days, and blue mana was about the mind, and with her power Princess Luna could enter dreams. She was going to teach me how to do that, but not until she'd guided me through a few dream walkings.

We'd even experimented with my powers. Just last night I'd found a blank card that allowed me to bind. Princess Luna had figured out what that meant and had allowed to bind one of her guards to the card. He'd become a 1/1 blue creature. If he was normal for a pony guard I could see why they hadn't been able to help with the changelings. They had to be at least 2/2 black creatures, and the queen had taken on Princess Celestia, although that may have been some sort of test.

Really it wasn't that surprising that the guards were so week. This plane had been at peace for centuries, and ponies were not a hunter gather species like humans. They weren't preyed upon, at least not anymore, but they weren't predators either, so they didn't have that kill or be killed mentality that a human can have.

I'd let him go very quickly and the guard hadn't even realised he'd been in the card, although he had felt a sense of dislocation. Which meant it might be safe for to bind other creatures in the future, but only with their consent, and since becoming part of deck would allow me to take that creature to other planes of existence I could imagine a few beings would agree. Also it might provide an alternative to simply killing all the bad guys.

"Speaking of jobs I have a task for you, one that will sadly delay your lesson" the Princess Luna said.

The downside of having a title in Canterlot's royal court was that the ponies above you tended to give you tasks. It was getting in the way of my magical education, but since I also did want to explore this plane I didn't whine about it.

"What is your bidding your highness?" I asked, giving a small bow.

As it turned out Princess Luna planned to send me to the Canterlot train station to meet up with, and then help the mane six, with their latest adventure.

Princess Luna didn't quite trust Princess Celestia's plan to drop Twilight Sparkle into the deep end with a bare minimum amount of information, and little support, all on the pretense of all this being Twilight's destiny.

This was probably due to Princess Luna having first hand experience of how badly things were going around here recently. There was that Discord guy, who I was convinced was Q from Star Trek, or at least some kind of alternate universe version, and there had been the changelings. Who knew what might happen next.

Twilight Sparkle might be a Planeswalker, but right now she was mortal as anyone else. Which made me wonder if Princess Celestia was putting Twilight into danger so that her Planeswalker Spark might trigger. Turing her into an Alicorn mostly likely, however those two things might not be like as Princess Cadence was not a Planeswalker.

"I am co-ruler of this land" Princess Luna was now saying "and if my sister can send ponies to deal with this crisis then so can I".

That did make sense, although I hoped not to get caught between the kind of sibling rivalry two goddesses could have.

"You will be my personal representative on this mission" I was now being told "It is quite an honour".

At this point it struck me that I should ask about where I was being sent and why. So I did.

(Line Break)

Equestria Friendship Express Train. North. Very Far North.

"Okay Twilight, let me see if I understand all of this" I said as the trained sped ever northwards "We are currently heading to the Far North to aid your brother, Shining Armor, and his wife, the Princess Cadence, who are currently protecting the Crystal Empire".

That sounded simple enough, only it wasn't.

"An entire Empire, which I didn't know existed until today" I then added.

I had spent weeks already looking through the Canterlot Archives for history and spell books. Only to discover a lack of detailed history books that covered the period before the Wendigoes showed up, leading to the founding of Equestria. Princess Luna and Celestia had told me their versions of history, but given the time that had passed I wasn't sure if they recalled it all correctly. To make matters worse there wasn't much on what happened after that either.

"It disappeared over a thousand years ago when Princesses Celestia and Princess Luna used the Elements of Harmony to banish the evil Unicorn, King Sombra, to the ice of the arctic north sealing him away, but he had cursed the Crystal Empire so it vanished along with him" Twilight explained, as though we were all students in a lecture hall.

I was starting to wonder of the Princesses Celestia and Luna hadn't made this realm as far back as they said they had. It was almost as if they were adding to it now, and changing history. But even for a Planeswalkers that was crazy. Wasn't it?

Perhaps there was a more rational explanation. Someone could have time travelled and altered the past. That might explain why the Princesses remembered history certain way, because once it had been that been way. If Discord was Q, or something close, he could have altered the past in order to teach some kind of lesson.

"And it is inhabited by Crystal Ponies, an apparent fourth tribe of Ponies never mentioned in any of the history books you gave me or the ones in the Canterlot Archive" I said.

After the attempted Changeling invasion of the royal wedding I had managed to find a book that talked about Changelings, under the myths and legends section of the archives rather than history or biology sections.

For all the good the book would have done, not one source in the book knew how the Changelings came to exist, but they all agreed that Discord probably did it. I suspected Princess Luna had made them, possible before being banished, but after she became Nightmare Moon, they may have been dormant while Princess Luna was away. However that was just another theory.

The book had nothing but conflicting information in it over every aspect on Changelings, maybe Changelings were some of the references in the book and had purposely mislead the writer.

"There are actually four tribes of Ponies already living in Equestria; Unicorn, Pegasus, Earth Ponies, and the Thestrals that take up the roles of Pegasus in the Lunar Guard as they are naturally nocturnal. They live inside the mountain caves like the bats their wings so resemble" Twilight told me.

I hadn't actually known they had a species name of their own, they just referred to as a type of Pegasus in the books. But given that they retreated from the world after Nightmare Moon had been banished, and that they'd been gone for a thousand years, it made sense they'd renamed themselves and developed their own culture.

While thinking about that I glanced out the window at the arctic desert that stretched on for miles. Given that I was up from dawn until dusk everyday studying in the Canterlot Archive and maintained a normal sleep cycle I could understand missing any entire race of vampire bat race of ponies. It was only after I'd started spending time with Princess Luna in her chambers that I'd seen any of them.

"And what are we going to help them protect the Crystal Empire from?" I asked Twilight, once my gazing out the window time was over "The Wendigoes?"

The mares shrieked in terror at name of the creatures that drove their ancestors from their homelands. Spike even unzipped one of Rarity's suitcase got inside of it and zipped it closed except for his quivering tail that was now sticking out.

I ignored this for the most part, and went back to staring outside the window again. The only thing that looked like it could survive out in this weather and terrain besides Wendigoes, were Penguins and Polar Bears. If we got invaded by an army of Penguins or Polar Bears I was exiting this plane, stage left. I simply would be able to take anymore of the insanity.

As I looked out more something struck me as odd. Well at lot of things struck me as odd, this was just something I could ask about without freaking out the young mares.

"The biggest question I have is, that if there hasn't been anything up this far North in a thousand years why do the train tracks go this far?" I wondered "Further more, why is there even a train station way out here in the middle of no where?

For a moment I received only silence from them as they thought about it. During that time the train came to a stop at the very train station I'd been just been talking about.

"Ponies can come up here anytime and have a snowball fight!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully answered before rushing off the train and jumping into a snow pile.

The other mares followed after Pinkie Pie with only Rarity pausing to extract a pink scarf from her luggage pile and wrapping it around her neck.

"Ha! And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves." Rarity's voice echoed from outside the train.

Looking at the luggage pile left behind I saw Spike attempting to stack it all up to carry himself, all for Rarity. I took pity on the little guy and lifted up all but one of the suitcases with unicorn telekinesis so that he wouldn't have to carry it all.

It annoyed me more than a little how badly Spike was treated by the mares, at least some of the time, it was a female dominated society that was for sure. And Spike was pretty much just a pet.

Poor little guy, and he was only a baby dragon.

(Line Break)

Arctic Wasteland. Very Far North.

I was having a serious case of deja vu right now. I was pretty sure that I'd seen this scene in every disaster movie involving snow, ever, and any movie with a snow monster.

The scene with the group of teenagers/ young adults that are under dressed for the freezing temperature of the blinding blizzard that they are for some stupid reason marching through!

"Something keeps trying to get in! We think it's the unicorn king who originally cursed the place!" Twilight's brother called out.

Over the howling wind of blizzard my pony ears could apparently hear much better than my previous human ones. As I could make out the conversation Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle were having at the front of the group.

"But Princess Celestia said I was being sent here to find a way to protect the Empire! If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected!" Twilight yelled, attempting to be heard over the howling winds.

At that moment as though taking Twilight's words as challenge the weather changed from howling winds to a moan that carried across the frozen terrain.

"It's one of the things, isn't it?" eeped Fluttershy as she hide behind Shining Armor, making her smarter than the average human in a horror scenario.

Which made sense, to the ponies of old any unfamiliar noise was a potential predator coming to eat them, so even now after generations of being the dominate species they still had that fear of being hunted as prey. Humans had the flight or fight thing, but that was a bit different as even in our more primitive states we'd been the hunter more than the hunted.

That or it was just Fluttershy being terrified of anything other than her own animals. I didn't know what these things were, but it didn't take much to scare Fluttershy.

"We have to get to the Crystal Empire! Now!" Shining Armor yelled at us.

That was when I felt an overwhelming presence behind us and a chill running down my spine that has nothing to do with the cold.

Looking back I saw a massive shadowy spectre with red/violet fuming-eyes hungrily staring at us. Without a moment to waste, I telekinetically hurl all of Rarity's matching luggage at the Pony Dementor/Nazgul/Wraith thingys, and there is a shriek from Rarity

"My luggage!" she screamed.

Her luggage was soon plowing through the shadowy being, leaving only gaping holes in the creature that quickly filled in with shadowy smoke. Great, why couldn't I have gone to Hogwarts first and learned the Patronus spell?

"Its your luggage or your life, Rarity!" I yelled at her while galloping ahead.

The fact that it took her more than a moment to decided told me their is something very wrong with the mare.

Up ahead of us was a large, light silver-blue, glowing dome. As we got closer to the portal, Shining Armor decided to turn back in an attempt to hold off the darkness incarnate.

Knowing that this would be stupid I focused on him with my unicorn magic as he fired a beam that a spectre split apart in order to dodge, before reforming to dive at him. Only for me to yank hard with my telekinesis and snatch Shining Armour away, before the Dementor/Nazgul/Wraith thingy could eat him or whatever.

I realised about a second before he collided with me that I didn't think this through. I should have used my cards, although with the wind that would have been tricky.

That wasn't an option now as we were tumbling across the snow, through the portal, and we ended up rolling along some grass until we come to a stop with him on top of me.

I come to a horrifying understanding that neither of us is wearing proper clothing, and his armour only covered certain parts of his body, allowing certain male organs to touch that no straight stallions should ever have touching one another with.

"Don't get the wrong idea" I said "We're just friends".

If anyone saw this I'd never live it down.


	8. Empire 2

**Author Note**

I did a few lines here and there to this story, but nothing that changed my co-authors hard work.

 **Planeswalker Gothic 2**

 **Crystal Empire 2**

To make matters worse he appeared to be unaware of our position and remained straddling me while his terrified eyes focused off in the distance. Also his rapid breathing kept sending a waves motion through his ENTIRE body!

I was normally homophobic like this, but this was taking things too far. Plus it was a really bad time to be having a, My Life Flashed Before My Eyes moment. It made me realise that I needed to get a life. Maybe a marefriend. Some pony who understood that I didn't understand how romantic relationships worked here.

Luckily none of the mares here, who all knew me, seemed to notice our position.

"Get . . . Off . . . Me." I harshly whispered to him; as I hoped that the mares would continue to remain oblivious to us.

Shining Armor, comes out of his dazed stupor that was due to colliding with me and our rolling tumble through the portal, and quickly realised what this would look like to any other pony. And being a married pony, this was even worse for him. Although we should both be grateful he hadn't mounted me like a horse would.

He applied a bit too much force with his hooves into my stomach getting off me. After having all the air forced out my lungs I rolled over gasping for new air while he managed to stand up, looking every where but at me.

While taking in gasps of sweet, sweet oxygen, I slowly managed to get all four of my hooves under me and unsteadily stand up. "

We will never speak of this again, in fact when I get back to Canterlot I am going to check the Archive for memory wipe spell" I said.

It wasn't mind rape if you do it to yourself.

"Agreed...Oh if you find the spell, could you come back and use it on me too." he spoke, completing our contract while never looking at me.

It wasn't mind rape if you had consent either.

"Done deal" I said.

From behind us came a barely audible shuddering gasp, if had been anywhere else it would have gone completely unnoticed from the background noise of bird calls, wind blowing, or ponies chatting. However the area we had entered lacked any of the background noise I was used to.

Turning around around, we discovered Fluttershy practically burying her head in her mane with one wide eye staring out through a gap in her mane. Her wings, that she usually kept so close to her body, that one could confuse her for a Earth Pony instead of a Pegasus; stood extend to their full length out from her body with all of her feathers on display.

I had no idea if female ponies could become aroused by stallion on stallion action, and I really didn't want to. Still Fluttershy's reaction hinted that was. That or she was trying not to burst out laughing at us about how silly this all was.

"Use the spell to wipe her memory too?" Shining suggested

That would be mind rape, or at mind coping a feel without permission.

"No, it is Fluttershy, she wont tell anyone . . . any pony about what she saw." I responded, reassuring him that we had no reason to fear her, before stepping closer to the shy mare "Will you Fluttershy?"

She attempted to curl up further into herself and whimpered something that I took for an agreement.

Then turning around and I finally got my first look at the Crystal Empire. Even from afar I could see that it certainly lived up to it's name as each and every single structure appeared to be made from a building sized gemstone with the center piece being a towering obelisk of diamond glowing or reflecting the sun into a blinding aura around it.

"Cool" was all I had to say about that.

(Line Break)

Crystal Empire. Approaching the Crystal Castle.

Being inside the city itself, instead of outer fields of the city. I had to swiftly revaluate my previous position on the Crystal Empire, not just the buildings were gemstones, but EVERYTHING in the city was a gem or crystal. Houses, sidewalk, light posts, statues, even the road itself appeared to be some form of gemstone; it was polished enough that I could see my own reflection clear enough to use it as a mirror.

Surprisingly Pinkie Pie hasn't taken advantage of this feature to make faces at herself as we walk toward the diamond obelisk I saw, that is actually the Crystal Castle. Which was odd because even I was tempted to do that.

Poor designing on the castle, I noted, the obelisk shaped castle rather than a solid base from the ground up, stood on four sharp points that went up several stories before coming together to form the base of the castle. Someone or something would only have to take out one of the supports and the entire castle would topple over. Unless they had some magic as a backup, acting as an invisible support, which was possible.

Looking down at my Mox Diamonds I watched in shock as White Mana actually forced out the Blue Mana from a Mox Diamonds to take its place. I had previously thought that Canterlot was the largest source of White Mana I had come across so far, it had nothing on the Crystal Empire. It filled my Mox Diamonds rapidly, filling my reserves to the max limits I could hold, and still the White Mana in of the Crystal Empire seemed almost eager to flood me with me more.

This entire city is the pony equivalent of the legendary city El Dorado, City of Gold, yet the only mare that was sharing my amazement at the city was Rarity. Given that her cutie mark is three gemstone grouped together, meant we understood better than any of other ponies with us; how impossible this entire city had to be.

"Its gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!" Rarity marvelled with her head swivelling about looking at every crystal structure around us.

I glanced at her to agree only to find that either the gems were reflecting into her eyes or her eyes had stars in them. Unicorn magic could do strange thing when unicorns got too excited, so it could be either.

"You could excavate every gems, in all of Equestria, and still not have a fraction of the crystal/gems before us now" she then added.

I found temporary companionship with the mare that could actually understand the full impact of this city existing. Once we saved the Crystal Empire I am sure that both of us would be spending time together learning from the Crystal Ponies about how they could grow the crystals/gems this huge. If nothing else the ability to grow crystal/gems to even close this size would be invaluable on other worlds when I decided to leave. Hopefully the locals would freely hoof over this knowledge.

That thought brought me up short; I hadn't since entering this city seen any the supposed inhabitants, the Crystal Ponies. My mane and fur on the back of my neck stood up as I stopped with that sobering realisation and really looked around the area.

Despite the brightness of the day and all the colourful crystal slanted houses, that no two are the same shape, with multiple floors; the entire city suddenly seemed colder and duller. I knew of some horror movies and video games that started with mysteriously empty cities.

Shouldn't there at least be some of them curious about the visitors to their city? Looking up and down the rows of house, I couldn't find a single window with curtains pulled opened for any ponies to be spying on us as we made our way to the castle.

Yet my short time in Ponyville and Canterlot showed that Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Ponies could be just as curious as human beings.  
So why hadn't a single of the Crystal Ponies come to investigate us?

"Hey Gothic! Come along you slowpoke, you're going to get left behind if you keep standing there!" someone yelled.

Rainbow Dash loudly taunting voice cut through my thoughts, blinking, I looked up to find her hovering just in front of me.

"See you at the Castle!" she delivered as a parting shot before zipping away, leaving a rainbow trail of light burned into my eyes.

Galloping after her I managed to make it into the throne room just in time to catch the tail end of a conversation between Twilight, her brother and sister-in-law.

"She's not fine. She can't go on like this forever. And if her magic were to fade . . . . well, you saw what's out there, just waiting for that to happen" a male voice was saying.

Shining appeared to be explaining Cadence's condition, which I could tell from a single glance, she actually managed to look worse than she did when Twilight and I found her in the caverns underneath Canterlot.

Heavy bags had formed under eyes, her meticulously maintained mane hadn't seen a brush in days. I could forming stray hairs and split ends, her entire body seemed to sag in place and she looked ready to collapse at any moment even as she sat in place, and her head moved, nodding off with her eyes slowly closing before jerking awake.

Her horn, constantly glowing blue, faltered for a moment, and since I was close to the door I could see that outside the eternal spring day of sunny blue skies with a few clouds, flicker to the dark cloudy blizzard that was beyond the shield, before changing back.

Before I could start to panic, Shining Armor leaned over and touch his glowing pink horn to hers, his magic aura quickly dimmed to nothing while Cadence's brightened.

Watching Shining and Cadence, show love and affection to one another, even under the circumstances. Remind me that it hadn't even been a month since the wedding.

The expression: When it rains, it fucking pours seemed to be as true here as on Earth

"If I ever get married I am not letting Princess Celestia plan the honeymoon, cause this, is actually worse than the wedding" I commented.

My voice apparently carried further than I thought or pony hearing worked better than I thought as Cadence and Shining manage to flush in embarrassment, while Twilight looked at me in horrified shock. The rest of the Mares and Spike went through various expressions in reaction to my implied insult against Celestia.

Normally I wouldn't insult either Princess, because that would be stupid and wrong for so many reasons, but this time I didn't feel bad about it.

Cadence manage to recover first from my out burst despite the most worn down.

"Gothic. Shining and I have already had our Honeymoon. We had just returned to Canterlot, when the Crystal Empire returned, ready to do our duties to Equestria." She said, attempting to alleviate the full implications of my insult against one of the ruling Diarchs of Equestria.

I however was not so easily soothed.

"Has it been more than a month since your Wedding?" I challenged, not yet willing to let this issue go yet.

When I got married and went on my Honeymoon, the most complexity that should occur would be trying to decided whether to dine in or go out.

"No" Shining Armor flatly stated.

I smiled a little, feeling smug.

"Then this is still your Honeymoon and an awful one at that; despite the chance to inherit an entire empire there is still the problem of tall, dark, and smoggy outside" I said "It is only a matter of time before the barrier fails and he gets in."

They all winced as I laid out the flat truth of the situation, we weren't in Equestria anymore and Celestia had denied the use of the Elements of Harmony, their go to MacGuffin for restoring peace, happiness and hugs from puppies.

"Luckily I can help buy us some more time" I informed everyone.

Lighting up my horn, my deck flew up before my eyes as I quickly cycled through the cards until I found one that could be applied to the situation. I focused on Cadence and used up to two Mox Diamonds to cast: Healing Hands.

A wave of white energy streamed from the card and flowed over her body. I watched in seconds as her body recovered what would have probably taken a few days to a week to fully recover from the stress and fatigue she had been under. The last of the healing energy circled around her horn like water flowing down the drain before being sucked in and her horn released a blinding flash of energy.

(Line Break)

Arctic Wasteland. Growing Storm of Darkness.

Within the ever encroaching Darkness, that surrounded and pressed down on the shield that protected the Crystal Empire, an intelligence over a thousand years old stirred as the shield that it had been slowly wearing down over the past few days suddenly renewed itself; becoming even stronger than when it first appeared.

More focus would be require to overcome this obstacle, before the defence of it's Empire were turned against it. It became he as the Darkness pulled back and focused on becoming one instead of a wide spread corruption. The Darkness compressed itself smaller and smaller until reformed into the original host.

For the first time in over a thousand years Sombra took a breath of fresh air that had been denied to him during his banishment into the dark of the Abyss. The moment of serenity passed all too quickly as he glared at the shield that denied him access to HIS Empire that he had fought and bleed to possess; only for HER to turn against him in his moment of triumph.

"Crystalsss . . ."

His ruby red horn and eyes glowed a sickly green as he focused on a dark magic spell. If SHE would rather send minions, instead of facing him HERSELF, he could do the same. Perhaps sending back them back to HER broken and corrupted would be enough to draw HER out here.

A shard of black crystal launched from his horn and buried itself into the snow in front of him. He watched as over the next few minutes the shard sprouted, grew into a black crystal obelisk taller than his current form, and with a loud crackling the obelisk broke into 5 pieces. The largest piece formed a jagged boulder shaped torso, two pieces formed jagged stumpy legs, and the last two formed jagged arms that ended in claws.

The 'head' of the creature gained the same sickly green glowing eyes as its master. Knowing its master's will, the golem turned toward the barrier and began taking lumbering steps toward it. It slowly picked up speed until the ground shook with its rumbling charge and smashed into the shield wall. The golem shattered into a dozen pieces; scattering fragments around the point of impact.

Within a minute, each of the shards began to grow into a black crystal obelisk. His eyes alight with glee and his fangs shimmered from his wicked smile as his army began to arise to take back HIS Empire.

(Line Break)

Crystal Empire. Residential Housing.

I reluctantly followed behind Twilight Sparkle and Spike as they approached the first house of a Crystal Pony. Twilight intended to write a research paper of all things on the Crystal Ponies, believing that this was the test part of Celestia's test. This foolishness had been made worse by her loudly declaring this in the throne room in front of myself, Cadence, her brother, and friends. My flanks had hit the floor just so I could use both hooves to preform a face hoof.

Private tutoring by Celestia. while giving Twilight an almost encyclopedia knowledge of spells, history, sciences, and other obscure knowledge. Had apparently left her with a severe lack of understanding about the real world when it couldn't be learn from a book. Probably one of the reason she had been sent to Ponyville in the first place, somethings only experience could teach. That and the whole friendship thing.

I had tried to get Twilight to understand that a test could come in more forms than academic, such as this being a test of Twilight's abilities as Celestia's apprentice to carry out and enforce her will as needed.

This led to Twilight bringing up that she had been Celestia's apprentice for many years longer than I had been allowed to study at Canterlot, and that Celestia had personally assigned this "test" to her.

As far as she knew I was just tagging along with her friends instead of because of Princess Luna requesting that I aid her. Not for the first time I had to wonder if Princess Luna had started taking me under her not literal wing because she wanted her own trainee planeswalker apprentice.

After a few minutes of knocking on the door, it finally opened to revealed a 'Crystal Pony'.

What answered the door couldn't have been farther from my expectations. Given the names of the various pony races living quite literally up to their names with Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony; I fully expected to encounter a pony made at least partly out of crystal.

Instead the sight before me could have passed for a very depressed Earth Pony with a coat of blue-gray. The only vague proof that she was a crystal pony I could find on her was the way her mane and tail looked like melted purple glassware. I don't think in my entire time on this world that I have ever seen such a depressed and listless pony.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But I can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power" the pony said, answering a question from Twilight I hadn't heard.

Then she winced in pain and her eyes shifted away from Twilight and fell on Spike, who like the loyal dog he pretty was, had followed his mistress.

She stared at him blankly for a few moments; suddenly for the first time since meeting her she actually began to display some emotion, unfortunately it was terror.

The pony began to hyperventilate, her body trembled, as her mouth quivered, and finally she released a shriek that sent me to the ground as I used my front hooves to cover my ears.

"DRAGON! THERE IS A DRAGON HERE! HIDE THE COLTS AND FILLIES!"

The pony retreated back into her home, a moment later a crystal vase come flying out and smashes into Spike's head sending him tumbling down the steps.

Poor Spike.


	9. Empire 3

Planeswalker Gothic

Crystal Empire 3

Crystal Empire. Residential Housing.

From the interior of the house came a barrage of crystal items. Plates, glasses, a lamp, and various other objects made of crystals, one after another aimed at poor Spike. Some hit, some missed, some missed the baby dragon and hit us instead. Throughout it all the local mare continued to scream and shriek about a dragon being here. I was pretty sure that everyone in the empire knew about it now.

Twilight projected a shield from her horn that the objects started bouncing off as Spike hide underneath her, clinging to one leg, his eyes wide in terror.

The more time I spent with Twilight, the more obvious it became that I hadn't study near enough Unicorn magic. She had not only reacted within a moment with a shield spell, but she had also somehow added a cushioning effect to it so that all the crystal items didn't shatter upon impact.

However it did show that her species instinctive reaction to a threat was a defensive measure, while I as human, at least in mind, used my instinctive reaction to end the threat. With telekinesis I grabbed the front door and slammed it shut. The shrieking and screaming cutting off after a few moments of the door being closed.

"I have never seen anypony react to Spike like that. I just can't understand why she would be afraid of Spike, he's only a baby dragon and wouldn't hurt anypony." I heard from Twilight as she leaned her head down to nuzzle against Spike.

This action only added to my confusion over Spike's position among these ponies; pet, luggage carrier, little brother, and now it almost looked like son. They were down right bipolar towards him.

"I don't think they agree with your opinion Twilight" I said.

Looking all around us as Twilight comforted Spike I became aware of the other Crystal Ponies that had seen or heard what had happened, and were now closing in on us.

The Crystal Ponies who were now moving even closer, had undergone a startling transformation, their previous melted glass looking manes and tails were becoming jagged and spiky, their coats had darkened while appearing to be crystal covered, but rather than be shining and sparkling, they appeared very dirty and untreated as though just dug out of the ground back on Earth.

"Monster!"

"Killer!"

"Gluttonous Beast!"

This and other things they called Spike as they hurled various crystal items or crystal chunks at us, some of them going so far as to tear out chunks of crystals from the very building around us, all to get more to throw at him.

Since most of them had very poor aim, and Twilight stood protectively over Spike, more often then not they would have hit us instead, if not for Twilight's shield.

"Please, stop! Spike is just a baby dragon, he would never hurt anypony!" Twilight attempted to plead with the growing mob.

This was said as even more crystals rained down on her shield.

"All the better to kill it now! Before it can grow up!" Came a shout from the mob, and this received a roar of agreement from the rest of the mob.

Twilight froze in an expression of horrified disgust, probably shocked and appalled that a fellow pony race would be willing to bring harm to a baby. I knew better, once a mob reached a certain size, getting them to peacefully disperse became impossible, and regardless of why they first formed; they would be willing to do anything while caught up in the mob mentality.

There were entire television shows back on Earth dedicated to covering riots forming and being dispersed by riot forces. My own country had a rather nasty history of rioting over proper games of football, not the yank's version that looked more like savage armies in armor smashing into one another.

"Twilight! They aren't going to listen to you!" I yelled over the roaring mob as they rained down more crystals on her shield.

While she could probably hold this shield up for a very long time, her eyes had now started to twitch every time another crystal bounced off her shield. It would only be a matter of time before she lashed out if part of her really considered Spike her son.

"Teleport us back to the Crystal Castle throne room" I instructed "so long as Spike is visible to them they will have a target to focus on and this will only get worse."

She gave a nod with a flash of light Twilight and Spike vanished . . . . leaving me alone with the angry mob.

"TWILIGHT YOU WERE SUPPOUSE TO TAKE ME WITH YOU!" I screamed to the heavens as the mob took aim for the next volley.

I attempted to prepare a shield, expecting much pain if it failed, only for the Crystal Ponies to just stop. Their coats changed to dull color without any appearance of crystals, expressions returned to depressed and apathetic, their manes and tails became melted glassware again. Whatever objects they had been holding fell to the ground.

"Oh . . . no . . . somepony has made a mess here. I hope somepony cleans it up soon." one of them said in a monotone voice.

There were some dull noises from the others that I took as agreement from the rest of the mob. They dispersed at a slow rate, their apathy resulting in them being in no hurry to return to doing whatever they do when there isn't a dragon around to turn them into a murderous mob.

"Errrm okay" was all I could say.

(Line Break)

Crystal Castle. Throne Room.

I returned to the castle to find Twilight and Spike on the throne with Candence, the two mares were hugging and whispering affectionately to him, as he stared into the distance. When I got closer I saw that there were tears streaming down his eyes as he mindlessly consumed one gemstone after another from a large bowl.

Shining Armor approached me, moments after I entered the throne room.

"Twilight told us what happened" he said "We began to worry when you didn't teleport here after her and Spike. Now you return, and you don't seem to be galloping away from a mob, so what happened after they teleported away".

It seemed that Twilight hadn't brought me along with her teleport, because she'd expected me to be able to teleport myself. I didn't know whether to be proud of her expectations of me or to be annoyed that she left me behind, thinking I could keep up with her.

"They just stopped once Spike was no longer visible to them" I reported "It was like a switch was flipped and they returned to their dull, depressed, apathetic forms. They didn't even know that they had wrecked the area with their attempt at Stoning, Spike, with crystals".

Which was odd to say the least.

"Their personalities flipping like that reminds me of some of the reports from when Discord was freed. He could invert the personality of his target into the opposite of what it was with a simple touch, those effected were 'Discorded'. At one point he did it to my sister and all of her friends, but it doesn't sound the same as what happened to the Crystal Ponies." Shining recalled.

Being the previous Captain of the Royal Guard, naturally he would have had access to all the reports of strange things that happened at Canterlot.

"What did you mean by 'attempt at Stoning, Spike, with crystals'?" Shining Armour then asked "Twilight didn't mention any herbal concoctions that cause hallucination."

I had to stare at him for a moment before I could make sense of that question. They were ponies, herd mentality and herbivore lack of aggression, probably the worse punishment they have is being exiled for normal ponies, and resorting to Elements of Harmony when some goes really EVIL.

"Stoning, where I come from, is a very old form of execution of a criminal or someone that has endangered or betrayed the group without placing responsibility on one person specifically to carry out the sentence. Rather the group will hurl stones at the individual or individuals until they are dead." I began explaining to Shining Armor,

As I went further into details he appeared to become sick, no doubt he couldn't understand why any race would create and use such a punishment.

Before either of us could say more on the subject; Twilight's friend Rarity walked in through the door, with a whoosh of wind Rainbow flew in through a window, Fluttershy appeared from behind one of the curtains approaching Twilight, and once again the doors opened to allow in Fluttershy and Applejack.

Shining and I did a double take and looked back toward the Fluttershy by throne and the one that just walked in. The Fluttershy closest to Twilight unzipped her head to reveal Pinkie Pie.

"Errrm okay" was Again all I could say.

(Line BreaK)

Crystal Empire. Crystal Library.

"I just . . . I don't even know what to . . . there are no words" Sparkle struggled to say.

Twilight Sparkle, completely dumbfound, too bad I didn't have a camera to record this moment forever. Not that it would have done me much good as I couldn't even drag my eyes away from the sight to before us to see Twilight's expression.

My eyes stared in wonder as I stood with Twilight and her friends in the library of the Crystal Empire. There were stacks of crystal shelves full of books that went from the floor to the ceiling of one floor, repeated on the floor below us and on the floor above us from the entrance. The Library stretched so far back that the books on the bookshelf on the back wall appeared as a single unit.

The Ancient Library of Alexandria, leaped to my mind as the only human Wonder of The World that could compare to this library. Centuries of knowledge that had been protected from suffering a similar fate to what had happened on Earth. Damn the Romans! Putting torch to the Library, but here in this world; perhaps the disappearance of the Crystal Empire was of some benefit that it had protected such knowledge from the ravages of time.

We had come here after the rest of the mares had returned from speaking with the Crystal Ponies, having better results out of the mere fact that the Crystal Ponies they spoke to hadn't turned into a murderous mob from seeing Spike. Not that they had learned much more than we did, the Crystal Ponies being depressed and apathetic, had all been unhelpful with the exception of mentioning a library to Applejack.

The mention of a library had drawn Twilight's attention like saying the word of the day on a some game show. For a moment it had seemed like she was ready to teleport all of us off to the library right then, however she'd hesitated and looked back to Spike worryingly. Cadence had comforted Twilight in the knowledge that she had foalsat Twilight for years, and she could easily take care of Spike while we searched for a way to save the Crystal Empire.

"I . . . I can't seem to remember. I'm not sure I actually work here" said a pony.

The old crystal mare apologized for failing to answer Twilight's questios as I finally got over the sight of this library.

One again our efforts were foiled by Sombra's Amnesia spell being much more effective than one would think. Assuming of course that this was his work.

I probably should add it to the Evil Overlord List if I ever got back to Earth; can't rebel against the Empire cause they don't remember why they need to rebel, can't tell the heroes any of the Overlord's weakness cause they don't remember any, and can't lead the heroes to find the MacGuffin to use against the Overlord cause they cant remember anything about it.

Moments later found all of us scattered around the library looking for . . . . some book to help save the Crystal Empire with. Not a single shelf had a label on it, the library sections went unlabeled, and even looking at just one shelf I found such volumes as "Rise of the Unicorn Lord" "Tactics of the Pegasus Military" "Earthbound: The Plight of Earth Ponies" "Wendigoes: Curse, Monsters, Natural Disaster, or Worse?" "Mare Grooming: Raising a Proper Unicorn Filly" "Dirty Hooves: Why Earth Ponies Grow Our Food".

This was about the point in a video game where the Librarian or the Scholar approaches the hero or the party and offered to find the book they need in exchange for them preforming a fetch quest of borrowed or overdue books. Alas that didn't happen here.

"Uh, anyone else startin' to think this is a lost cause?"a voice asked.

That had beenApplejack's southern drawl rising from the floor below me, her voice echoing with my own thoughts. We could be here for weeks or months and still not find what we are looking for, not like we were going to find a book labelled "Saving the Crystal Empire for Dummies", if Sombra was really devious he probably took out any books that would be of help to anyone against him.

I watched, leaning over the crystal glass railing, as Twilight down below had created a magical conveyor belt that floated one book after another in front of her for inspection, only for her to reject them into an ever growing pile of books becoming taller and larger than her. At this rate it would take a miracle or shear dumb luck to find a book to help us.

"Yes!" shouted Twilight from below me as all of her floating books except the one in front of her dropped to the floor in one loud echoing THUMP.

Honestly I'd been expecting Pinkie Pie to be the lucky one to find it, but never look a gift horse in the mouth.

We all dropped what we had been looking at and came to surround the book that Twilight had found. "History of the Crystal Empire." the title proudly displayed on the cover of the book in gold plates, three long gemstone imbedded on it, gold fittings on the corner, and I think that was leather making up the binding of the book, thankfully that went completely unnoticed by the mares.

Histroy said that the three tribes already hadn't cared what happened to one another and the Wendigoes showing up had only made it worse. There is no mention of how they treated the other races, but if this is real leather then it either came from cows or minotaurs. I was beginning to wonder if the reason that there are no books on history before the Wendigoes appeared was because they have been removed to wipe away that period of the ponies history.

"I just hope it has the answers we need." Twilight prayed as she open the book and began flipping through the pages of the book.

Either Twilight could speed read at an unprecedented rate or she is searching through the book for something to jump out that reads "How to Save The Crystal Empire."

She then floated the book up in front of her and headed towards the entrance of the library. The stairs up to the main level didn't even give her pause as she ascended them without ever taking her eyes off the book. Her friends fell in line behind her talking to another about being glad to have found a way to save the empire and be done with all of these book.

I sighed, taking one last look at all of these book and their potential spell knowledge that hadn't been seen in over a thousand years.

"Focus Gothic, save the Empire from Smoggy the Unfriendly Unicorn first, then profit." I muttered while heading up the stairs, and chuckling at my description of Sombra.

I pushed against the door-THUMP-and stopped to look back at what had caused the sudden noise. Before me on the floor laid a thin book that hadn't been there before. I considered leaving it for a moment, as this was clearly the not so subtle work of fate or destiny getting my attention, before finally giving in so that I could find out what they wanted. At least they hadn't dropped it on my head.

My horn lit up as the book floated off the ground, next I undid the strap that kept the book sealed, opening the book to the first page, and brought it close enough to read.

 _Final Journal of Unicorn Lord Diamond Horn._  
 _Fall of the Three Tribes and Founding of the Crystal Empire._

I snapped the book shut and had it float along beside me, I didn't believe that I could read this and walk at the same time without running into something or tripping over my own hooves while reading.

"Thank you higher powers or power" I whispered.

At least now I had my own source of information on the Crystal Empire, just in case Twilight's failed to cover everything.

(Line Break)

Crystal Castle. Throne Room.

"A Crystal Fair. According to this book, it was established by their first queen, and became their most important tradition" Twilight was now saying "The Fair was held every year to . . . . 'renew the spirit of love and unity in the Empire so they could protect it from harm.' My friends and I could put it together. Everything we need to know is in the book."

Twilight had the book floating in front of her as she laid out her plan to Cadence and Shining to save the Crystal Empire while occasional reading out loud from the book as reference.

I sat down on my flanks to free a hoof to massage my temples as I felt the on coming headache.

 _'Sure, lets have a Fair to spread joy-joy feelings of love and happiness while the Army of Darkness bears down the shield protecting the Crystal City'_ were my thoughts _Note to self; next time on 21st century like world buy shotgun, magically enchant it against beings of Darkness and Evil, engrave the name "Boomstick" onto it, introduce it to next Evil being that comes after me. Hail to the King, Baby._

"Gothic, aren't you going to go help Twilight and the rest prepare for the Fair?" someone asked.

My fantasy of simply blasting Evil in the face with Boomstick can to an end as I felt someone poking me in the side. Looking down I found Spike attempting to get my attention, it also looked like he had been through more than one bowl of gems if the bulge of his stomach was any indication.

"Yeah, I just got lost in my thoughts. Thanks Spike" I replied.

I watched as he waddled off back toward Cadence, given what had happened earlier, they had probably suggested that he stay in here with her while they set up the fair.

While intending to catch up with the mane six I head down the hallway and had almost reached a cracked open door from before stopping dead in my tracks.

"We can save the Crystal Ponies with their History!" sang Twilight's voice with musical accompaniment.

I went galloping back down the hallway.

 _Nope nope nope nope nope nope NOPE! I am not getting caught in another musical number!_

I collapsed panting back in the throne room as Cadence, Shining, and Spike gave me questioning looks.

"Ah" I said, quickly coming with a lie "It seems that they don't need my help setting up the Fair".

That was all I had to say.

"I am going to spend some time doing my own research on the Crystal Empire." I explained, once my heart rate slowed down from the panic of nearly being caught in another 'Magical Musical of Frienship'.

"Well then Gothic, could you take Spike along with you. Sombra has changed the way he is attacking the shield" Shining Armor requested "So I can go scout what is happening beyond the shield while Cadence fully focuses on defending the empire".

For a moment I considered summoning more help for Shining, but on a scouting mission fewer individual usually worked best.

"How has Sombra changed the way he is attacking the shield?" I questioned, seeking any knowledge I could get on our current enemy.

The Changeling Queen had completely blindsided us at Canterlot and managed to sneak an entire army to Canterlot without being spotted. That was not something I wanted to be repeated. Besides know your enemy and all the rest of that Art of War stuff.

"Before it always felt like a constant pressure that slowly wore me down over the past several days. After you healed me the pressure withdrew for a time before I started to feel like my head is being hit my tiny thorns. Their numbers are increasing and coming more often." Cadence described with her eyes occasionally twitching as she spoke.

Worrying, Sombra as the great big cloud of darkness had changed tactics as a result of my action of healing Cadence, that denoted intelligence and adaptation to a changing situation. The Changeling Queen had intelligence, but failed to adapt when her plan was foiled.

I was going to have words with Celestia when we get back about the lack of any intelligence on Sombra. Actually I'd talk to Princess Luna, and let her lecture her sister, last chance of being thrown in a dungeon that way.

With TK I picked up Spike and set him on my back, as it would be mean to have the little guy try to keep up with my longer and faster strides on a full stomach. I had a moment of odd feelings about having a rider on my back, wondered if this is what the horses on Earth felt with a rider, before discarding the entire idea. Didn't care back then, don't really care right now.

We eventually found a small side chamber with a single round table surrounded by cushions. I set down Spike beside me and cracked open the journal to find out how the Crystal Empire formed. I glanced at the first page before huffing in annoyance as multicolored lights showed up on the paper. Looking up at the ceiling revealed a gaudy multicolored chandelier made of gems.

I grasped it with my magic and ripped it from the ceiling. On Earth this gaudy piece of art would have taken weeks to make and sold for at least tens of thousands of pounds to some super rich couple that would have used as a fancy light bulb. I would give it all the respect that such a creation of the Crystal Empire deserved.

I set it down beside Spike and stated "Here Spike, eat up."

The little dragon drooled at the sight of the gemstone chandelier, his wide open mouth inching closer and closer to taking a bite out of it. Only to stop and shook his head attempting to resist his instincts to eat the banquet of gems set before him.

"Gothic, are you sure I can eat this?" he asked "I've seen Rarity work a long time adding gems to the clothes she makes. Wouldn't somepony worked a long time to make this."

While hearing Spike be so hesitant and considerate over an offering of food; I felt some of my image of dragons shaped by the likes of Smog, Draco, and various D&D dragons change greatly.

"Spike, are you being considerate of the same Crystal Ponies that just tried to kill you early?" I asked in return.

Spike eyes widened and began trembling at the reminder, while taking a second look at the chandelier.

"Take this piece of advice to heart Spike" I then said "After someone tries to kill you, you stop feeling bad about doing anything back to them."

He was a dragon not a pony, he didn't have to be too like them.

Next I turned back to the journal and glanced over the first few entries, most of it was blue blooded noble day to day stuff that was of little used to our current situation. It was stuff like: His eldest daughter is a spoiled brat that complains about not getting her favorite flavor berries every meal, because the lazy Earth Ponies can't farm them while the ground is frozen. His "wife" is a little more than a bed warmer/broodmare that orders around the servant. His Son is a disappointment to the family name. Blah blah blah.

CRUNCH

Spike had apparently made up his mind and started eating the chandelier.

I then continued through the entries and found something worth reading; weather is becoming worse blaming the Pegasus, food shortages blamed on Earth Ponies, Unicorns raising the Sun and Moon no longer matters as complete cloud overcast blizzard makes day and night look the same.

Summit between the Three Tribes called, enough supplies prepared for the Summit to last a few weeks . . . . Summit is a failure . . . . from the time that Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead sat down at the table to talk until they left the Summit . . . . 10 minutes, in 10 minutes any hope of working together died a swift death.

Flipping ahead several pages, as I already knew about the founding of Equestria, I finally found an entry of interest.

 _We are cut off . . . the mountain and forest paths to Equestria are blocked by snow and ice. One of the Pegasus under Blustery Winds attempted to fly over and the blocked path. She fell from the sky moments later and only my quick reaction prevented her from crashing to the ground. Her feathers have been frozen solid. This is focused and deliberate to stop us from reaching Equestria. The Windigos are no natural disaster or curse; there is an intelligence behind this, cruel and malicious, but intelligent and it is herding us. We have no choice but to turn back and head north._

My eyes twitched as there on the pages before me was an alternative spelling of the word Wendigo that I knew form human legends, compared to the Windigos of pony legends.

Interesting, the Windigos are only given mention in the founding of Equestria, and in that record they were some spirits brought into existence by the Ponies's dark emotions toward one another, strange how only when they hated each other do the Windigos show up.

 _Our former homes are lost . . . nothing remains but snow buried structures and frozen castles. There are no safe shelters left here to huddle in for warmth. We press on to the north, my Unicorns rotate powering the shield spell to keep out the worst of the snow and cold, but they are tiring as each one last for a shorter period before needing to rest on Earth Pony wagons. The Pegasus can only scout ahead for a short time before returning to warm up. Blustery Winds has given orders that they are to stay very close to the ground._

The Unicorns, Pegasus, and Earth Ponies were working together, but the Windigos were still able harass and herd them away from Equestria. In the history books the Windigos had disappeared after being driven off by the "Fire of Friendship" first created when the three assistance to the Tribe leaders managed to get along together.

Why then was it that this group of ponies were getting along, but were still under attack by the Windigos? Was the land of Equestria so magical that it enhanced or created the "Fire of Friendship" from the ponies to protect itself from the Windigos?

 _A trap . . . the Windigos set a bucking trap! We lost one Unicorn, one Pegasus, and two Earth Ponies in an attempt to save . . . Blustery Winds and myself barely escaped with our lives and on the way back we swore to take what we saw today to our graves. Even now I cant bring myself to write what happened, it would shattered the trust we have built among the tribes. We DESERVE everything the Windigos do to us._

No, that didn't sound ominous at all.

At this point Windigos were sounding less and less like a curse and closer to the Ursa Major that had come to Ponyville after those two colts, too dumb to live, had gone and provoked it to see Trixie preform more magic.

Also just what had Diamond Horn and Blustery Winds saw that day?

 _Hope . . . for the first time since we have been cut off from reach Equestria we have hope. Last night one of the Pegasus keeping watch saw a falling star crash over a nearby hill. A scout sent out has returned this morning telling us that the area around the falling star appears as the eye of a hurricane; the blizzards howls around it, but inside is as warm as a spring day with grass and flowers growing wild. We move with all haste to reach the fallen star._

Magical MacGuffin to the rescue, a Deus Ex Machina if I ever heard of one, a magical falling star just appeared to solve all of their problems.

Turning the page I discover that the previously artistic cursive script that could only come from long hours of repeated practice was replaced by barely legible words and ink blots as somepony tries very hard to write, before a completely different hand/hoof takes over writing in a plain script.

 _My horn . . . My beautiful horn is gone . . . My magic no longer responds to me . . . what good is a Unicorn Lord without his horn or magic?_

 _Lord Diamond Horn along with all the rest of the Unicorns are besides themselves in despair over the loss of their horns and magic, well most of their magic. The same can be said for the Blustery Winds and the Pegasus under his command over the loss of their wings. Only we, the Earth Ponies, seem to be able to get over out losses the quickest. Still our great strength, endurance, and connection to the earth is somewhat diminished._

 _The Crystal Heart, the star that fell from the sky, has changed its shape into a heart of pure crystal after transfroming all of us when the Unicorns attempted to feed magic into it to expand the bubble of protection to drive off the Windigos. Now all of us share the abilities of our previous tribes. While digging to plant I touched a gemstone and thought how much easier this would be with a plow, the gem grew and attempt to shape itself into a plow. A former Unicorn and Pegasus came out of their despair at the sight and working together we made a crystal plow._

The Crystal Heart, one of those name that just seeing or hearing name made you capitalize it in your own head was on the same level as The Elements of Harmony. Their attempts to interact with it had activated it and it had made sure the ponies around it could never fight again over race by removing the racial traits that made them different. Instead of the Three Tribes of Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony; The Crystal Heart had made them one new tribe of the Crystal Pony that shared all of their previous abilities in a diminished way. This forced them all work together.

I needed to find Twilight, the Fair wouldn't do any good, the Crystal Ponies being happy is no good without The Crystal Heart to empower. With that in mind I picked up Spike and raced off to find the ponies.


	10. Empire 4

**Author Note**

As in the last three chapters this was written by Takao-kun. It will also be the last part of the story set in My Little Pony, at least for a while.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Empire 4**

 **Crystal Empire. Crystal Castle.**

Why is it that when you actually need to find someone that they can disappear into thin air but don't need them and you will quite literally run straight into them without noticing them. Not in there little previous meeting room, not in the throne room, and I can't go outside with a dragon on my back.

Even if Spike certainly look more like a beach ball than a dragon. Where could they have possibly be? "I didn't know it was an actual relic!" came a familiar female wail of anguished, right lets go that a way. Following my ears as Twilight loudly panicked, lead me out onto a large balcony that I could see most of the kingdom from, honestly hadn't seen a balcony this unbelievably large since the last time I watched the Aladdin movie. "The book didn't mention anything about the crystal ponies powering the Heart!"

I took that as the moment to make a dramatic entrance. "The Crystal Heart, is a magical star that fell from the sky during the time of the Windigos after Equestria had been founded. It was found by the last remaining group of Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony fleeing their homeland; they had been cut off from reaching Equestria by the Windigos and forced them further north. Upon using magic on the magical star it released a wave of energy that transformed the Three Tribes into one new Tribe of the Crystal Pony." Twilight stared in surprise at me as her book slipped from her magical hold and fell to the floor. It landed open and showed the last page of the book had been torn out.

"How . . . Why . . . its doesn't saying anything about it? The entire time there was a page missing! How could I not notice?" apparently Twilight had never experience that books could lie, deceive, or mislead you. I watched as tears started to well up in her eyes.

"It was a decoy, Twilight, to make whoever came to the Crystal Empire waste time while Sombra could hunt them down. We have been outplayed on level we weren't prepared for yet." I attempted comfort Twilight, only for cry out and bury her head under Cadence's wing.

"It's all right, Twilight." over her loudly sobbing, Cadence switched between comforting words to Twilight and glaring at me for accidently driving her over the edge. I backed away from the two mares while catching snippets of Twilights cries of she failed Celestia, failed her test, endangered her friends, and Sombra will win now.

I expected this to continue for a while, only for both of them to cry out and look in one direction toward the barrier.

"Shiny."

"Big Brother."

Cadence glowing horn flickered and died as her hoof clutched at her heart. The barrier above the city retreated down to the outer edges and disappeared. The great cloud of darkness rose from all the surrounding artic wastelands surrounded the city prepared to engulf it in darkness. Twilight suddenly vanished in the familiar flash of teleportation.

(Line Break)

"Cadence! Cadence!" I screamed at the Princess of Love as the clouds of darkness rose up like a great tidal wave and prepared to crash down on us while she stared off into the distance

I grabbed her muzzle and forced her to look at me.

"Focus! If you don't raise the shield back up every pony here will die!" I yelled.

She blinked and numbly nodded at me. Her horn slowly light up with magic and as her face twisted into an effort of concentration; the shield slowly rose up around the city. A sudden flash of magic signaled Twilight's return. Cadence attempted to turn her head to check, only for my hooves of both sides her head to stop her. "Focus on the shield, you cant falter now. If the shield falls Shining Armor's condition wont make a difference if Sombra reaches us."

I glanced to the side and it took all of my self control not to wince at the shape he is in. If he had been human I would have been convinced that he went a few rounds with Mike Tyson, as a pony it would be closer to beating a dead horse. Twilight has her horn glowing attempt to heal him? Give him a magic infusion? Only for the little black crystal growths on his horn to rebuff her efforts.

Up above us the last part of the shield finished being restored and returned our surroundings to a bright spring day. I released Cadence muzzle as she all but flew to Shining's side.

"He isn't breathing! He is alive but isn't breath, I cant heal him with magic! ThecrystalsarepreventitandIDON'TWHATTODO!" tears streamed down her face as Twilight tried desperately to save her brother and her magical knowledge proved useless against the corruption on his horn.

When the magical methods fell there is always the mundane. "I know a way to save him. Twilight roll him on to his back." I ordered as I approached, desperate for any help she compiled. "Lean his head back to open the air passage to his lungs." I grabbed hold of his body to keep him on his back, as the position is unnatural for pony bodies. "I need you to take deep breathes and release them down into his mouth while blocking his noise." I place my hoof where the heart is located on a pony/horse body and began chest compressions.

One, two, three, four, five . . . I began counting as we preformed CPR on Twilight's brother, my ears twitching every time that Twilight would take a deep desperate breath before forcing it into her brother's lungs. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Cadence watching still as a statue with her horn glowing as tears flowed.

One, two, three, four, five . . . after this adventure was over I am leaving here, apparently pony land isn't as safe as I thought it was. I had been letting my guard down and this was the consequence. Should have just burned through all of my White Mana cards to make my own army to fight Sombra.

One, two, three- Shining coughed and hacked before taking a deep breath of his own. I took a step back just in time for him to be glopped by both mares at once as he took his next few ragged breaths.

"Shining!"

"Brother!"

The next few moment were tearful cries of admonishment from the two mares of how he could never scare them like that against and they would never let him out of their sight ever again. This continue for sever minutes before I coughed to get their attention. "Not to be rude, but we still do have an Evil Unicorn problem barring down on us. Any information would be much appreciated."

Twilight and Cadence released Shining from their hug and he slowly with shaking hooves stood up, before having to lean against Cadence for support. "An army . . . . Sombra has raised an army black crystal statues . . . . they shatter against the barrier . . . . each fragment grows into another full sized statue. Caught me . . . . understand 'Stoning' with gems now."

I drew out my card deck as Twilight and Cadence began planning what to do next. Twilight told them how only Celestia's focused magic had been able to destroy the black crystals she had been shown. Cadence could only hold the shield for so long with an entire army barring down on it.

Nope, nope, nope, wrong element, not strong enough, spell to prevent damage, who in the hell made this deck, and oh . . . that could work. Floating the card in front of me I paid 5 of my Mox Diamonds to summon Akroma, Angel of Wrath, she had **Flying, first strike, vigilance, trample, haste, protection from black and from red. No doubt she'd kick ass.  
**

The card vanished and in a beam of sunlight descending from the heavens above descended an Angelic Peagus. Most pictures of Angels depicted them the gentle guide or armored protector, most forgot about the third that came as a force of justice/vengeance.

"My Lord." she recognized me as her summoner as she took to a knee with her longsword floating as if by unicorn magic even though she lacked a horn. A veil of blue hair cascaded down her right shoulder as she lowered her head. There were no feathers to make up her wings instead the energy poured from the structures that made up the top of her wings, magical hard light perhaps?

"This sacred city is under assault by an Army of Darkness, beyond the barrier protecting this city you will find them being lead by a Black Summoner. If he should reach this castle, he will corrupt it and all the land around us into Bastion of Darkness. Go forth and destroy them" I ordered.

Now this was a how Planeswalker did things. We summoned and cast spells of great power and let those do the killing for us.

"Wrath is no vice when inflicted upon the deserving." she said, repeating as a mantra the words written on her card.

With a single flap of her wings, she launched into the air and soared toward the barrier.

(Line Break)

Artic Wasteland. Black Crystal Golem Army.

Sombra watched as his army continued to hurl themselves at the barrier. Grow, charge, shatter, and the process repeated again and again as their numbers multiplied. The barrier had already been brought down, once after he had crushed the unicorn that had come to spy on them. It would only be a matter of time before they permanently brought it down.

Unfortunate that he had been rescue by the female unicorn that had appeared to rescue him and teleported them back into the city. He had obviously been connected to whoever projected the barrier . . . . the male unicorn with his coat of white and mane of blue had stirred his memory . . . . something familiar from long ago-

A scream of fury from above ended his train of thought as a streak of Light crashed down among his army. Those closest to the impact were burned away by the Light, not a single fragment of their bodies survived. Wielding a sword of shining Light and wings of energy the creature viciously and swiftly attacked his army.

Flying through their ranks slashing left and right the intruder's sword vanquished his army. Sombra focus his dark magic and blasted the annoyance. With the amount of energy he used in the spell his target should have been in severe pain as black crystal sprout all over it's body. Instead the spell splashed over the attacker with no more effect than a wave hitting a cliff side.

It did for a moment draw attention to him and a blast of Light from it's sword forced Sombra to shift into shadows to dodge out of the way. All to distract it from the golems coming together to form a larger more powerful golem, working together they brought a fist down attempting to avenge their brethren.

The fist buried their attacker into the snow, crushing them against the ground, and Sombra prepared to order the larger golem to hurl his smaller brethren at the barrier. Only for a beam of Light to shoot out of the ground and take off the golem's arm. Flying up and circling around it took off the other arm, before flying down between the legs to take them off with a swipe left and right; and it came back around to drive the sword into his golem's back shattering it into dissolving fragments.

His last few golems made a desperate last attempt against the Light bearer, only to be cut down with minimal effort as it focused solely on Sombra. He retreated back a few steps before shifting into shadows and fleeing across the artic plains. The avenging being of Light gave chase after him.

Crystal Empire. Crystal Castle Throne Room.

Twilight had planned to ask me multiple questions about where I had got my information, how I knew to do what we did to revive her brother, and what I had summoned to fight Sombra's army. I had reminded her that we were on a strict time limit and I would happily answer all of her questions after we saved the Crystal Empire.

Twilight and I had left behind Shining, Cadence, and Spike as we searched the castle for the Crystal Heart. Well, Twilight had rapidly searched the castle at a rate that would have done an episode of Scooby Doo proud. Going in one door and coming out a door on the opposite side of the hallway, going up the stair and emerging from a hatch on the floor, and our search ended at the throne room.

"Okay, we know that the Crystal Heart is somewhere in the castle. Given that the Crystal Heart projects a circular field that creates the enteral spring day we see outside. The Castle is the Centre of the Circumference of that circular field effect that we see. So where could the Evil Overlord Unicorn have hidden it!? We searched his entire castle!" I yelled, cursing that our enemy was proving time and time again to be one step ahead of us the entire way.

Twilight who had been panting for breath beside me from out frantic search of the castle. Went still and stared off into the distance. "Of course! That's it, Gothic!" she scream with excitement.

"Wait, what is it?"

"This isn't King Sombra's castle!"

"Twilight, as far as I know this is the only castle in the Crystal Empire." I glanced all around the throne room and while, yes it did look too bright and shiny for most evil beings, there were some that would love to be surrounded by such wealth on display.

"It is, but it didn't look like this." Twilight focused her magic, the normal purple glow of her horn changed to a dark purple becoming black closet to her horn, and dark purple corruption leaked from her shut eyes. I felt my gut twist as Black Mana flowed from Twilight and she fired it at a large crystal that made up part of the throne.

The Crystal transformed from bright and shiny to dark and malevolent, it cast a shadow down the length of the throne room far in excess of what should be possible. As the shadow spread it revealed an open pit with a staircase going down in the middle of the throne room.

I felt horribly sick and collapsed to the floor, what the hell was wrong with me, staring down at my fore legs I watched as the White Mana that had been charging my Mox Diamonds drained away completely as the first slowly filled with Black Mana. One spell of Black Mana had inverted the mana of the entire land around us.

"Gothic! Are you okay? You suddenly collapsed after I cast the spell Celestia showed me to transform the crystal." Twilight hovered over me in a near panic, given what had happened to her brother just a short time ago she was well within her right to be concerned.

"No, no I am not. Twilight, with that one spell you inverted the Mana of the this entire land." I explained as I slowly stood up and raise the leg that displayed my Mox Diamonds, "You see this, it was recharging with White Mana, after you cast that spell it drained all of the White Mana I had stored and is slowly refilling it with Black Mana."

"I will be careful with it, Gothic, casting that spell felt wrong and went against everything I had been previously taught about magic, but I had to do it." Twilight alleviated my concern that she would got Darth Twilight for the moment, even if that did sound like a good Sith name.

We both leaned over the edge of the pit in the floor see how far down it went, couldn't see the bottom though that may be from how dark it is rather than how deep it is. "Twilight, question, the Crystal Castle is supported on four legs?" I asked and she nodded, "How then do we have a set of stairs that appear to circle straight down and they somehow don't got through the bottom of the castle?"

Twilight looked at me, looked into the pit again, magically tore off a rock piece, dropped it down the pit, no echo reached us, and thought about it for a few more moments before responding "Magic?" I had to facehoofed. Bad sign when the Magic Expert is stumped on something magical.

I looked away from Twilight and froze at the sight before me. While we had been focused on the pit, the one crystal Twilight transformed had spread it's effect to the rest of the throne, and while it was cause for some concern my focus was on the image reflecting off of those crystals.

"Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Your sister-in-law is still maintaining the barrier, right?"

She glanced out of a nearby window, "Yes, the Empire is still safe for the moment."

I grabbed her head and turned it toward the throne. We watched in mute horror as Sombra walked out of the black crystals that made up the throne. "Tell him that." I hoarsely whispered as he ascend his throne and sat down while completely ignoring us.

The King had returned.

(Line Break)

Crystal Empire. Throne Room.

"You, you cant be here! The barrier is still up the is no way you could have gotten through it without us noticing!" Twilight screamed beside me in denial of the sight before us. King Sombra, the Evil Unicorn Overlord, had manage to bypass the barrier protecting the Crystal Empire entirely.

He looked every bit like one would expect a Medieval Warlord to look, if the armor had been designed with a unicorn in mind. Armor plated greaves on each hoof that covered most of the legs, an armored breast plate covered the front his chest and went all the way up to his head, it stretched back past his fore legs with an attached royal red and white cloak hiding the rest of his body. A crown of steel spikes rested on his head above his ruby red horn that curved up unnaturally. His mane flowed like crude oil spilled in water.

"It seems in the last thousand year, that courtly manners have fallen to the way side. One would expect that the apprentice of the Solar Diarch would have been trained better." His voice flowed smoothly with all manners that nobles supposed had in a time where a single slight against another noble could lead to a duel and feuds that lasted generations easily started.

Twilight ground her teeth together, probably remember that Sombra had already tried to kill us once and had done grievous harm to her brother that we to preform CPR to bring him back. I bumped against her, we couldn't afford to fight him right now, and if we could get him talking all the better.

Reluctantly, Twilight took a deep breath, and put of the fakest expression of politeness I had ever seen on her. "Greeting King Sombra. I am Twilight Sparkle apprentice to Celestia the Solar Diarch of Equestria and this is Gothic Planeswalker, my ally in restoring the Crystal Empire to its former glory."

He held his gaze on me for several moments, "I take it you are responsible for 'difficulties' I have been running into. The barrier suddenly being renewed and the creature sent to attack my army, before chasing me into the wastelands?"

Deciding to follow Twilight example for now, "Yes, Milord, my allies were threatened and I responded with my own magical talents. If I may, Milord, but however did you survive Akroma. I chose her specifically for her ability to be protected from dark magic."

Rather than respond his horn lit up red and a swirling vortex of color appeared before me, the color slowly stopped spinning and solidified into an image of Akroma . . . . run through with a massive spear of ice, yeah that would do it. Protected against Black and Red, not the Blue of the ice and snow.

He turned away from me as I readjust his threat level. Akroma had been a 6/6 White Mana creature with a full set of advantages that should have allowed her to defeat Sombra, only for him to turn the tables on her.

"Yes, the Empire has fallen on hard times. Once I finished retaking the rest of my Empire from the interlopers that are attempting to claim it as their own. Though I am excited to meet you Twilight Sparkle, this is such a memorial meeting after all. The Last meets the First." Watching the conversation go on it was amazing how polite nobles could be to one another while plotting to kill one another. Definitely watched too much Game of Thrones.

"You don't know, you really don't know do you?" Sombra seemed to actually be surprised that Twilight didn't know what he was talking about, "Of course, I should have expected that SHE would keep such information secretive, but to send you here without tell you what you face? SHE has done you a great disservice."

Sombra's horn lit up as he extracted a scroll from under his royal cloak, he floated the scroll in front of us to reveal a very familiar seal on it. Beside me Twilight began to hyperventilate and she quietly mumble "no, no, no, no, no, no." rapidly even as the seal of the sun came off and the scroll unrolled.

The first line of the scroll couldn't be denied as we were both familiar with the writer.

Twilight quickly read through the entire letter, reread it a second, third, and fourth time. Each time more frantic than the last as though the words on the scroll would change if she read them fast enough.

While she focused on the actually message on the scroll: Sombra as Celestia's first apprentice had been sent to the Crystal Empire as the Equestria Ambassador to convince them to rejoin with the Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony tribes.

I focused on what was said in between the lines: Celestia was immortal, Sombra wasn't but deeply loved her as a stallion to a mare, she sent him away on a diplomatic mission to the Crystal Empire, he could return to her side once the mission was complete. May as well have told him to bring her the Crystal Empire and she would marry him.

Celestia had sent us to deal with her ex-apprentice, ex-lover, and gave us no warning at all. That she had sent him away rather than have the courage to sit him down and explain why they couldn't be together. He had more than enough reason to go off the deep end and were caught in the middle.

He rolled the scroll back up and sealed it again before returning it under his cloak. "NO! NO! NO! It cant be true! She would never take somepony so sick and twisted as you to enslave other ponies and kill off the ruler of another country to claim it for yourself!" Twilight loudly denied the existence of her predecessor, throwing any attempts at diplomacy out the window.

"I see that SHE has left HER hoofprints all over you Twilight Sparkle. Just as swift to leap to the conclusion that draw from what little you see before you. I at least reserved my judgements until I have had the chance to examine you myself. I did not kill the previous ruler of the Crystal Empire nor did I enslave the Crystal Ponies." Despite having Twilight screaming at him, Sombra hadn't left his throne or prepare to blast us with magic. Checking my Mox Diamond showed the first one still trying to fill up.

"I saw it in the throne room from her memory, you in a dark crystal castle laughing over crystal ponies in chains!" Twilight, please stop trying to provoke powerful and dangerous unicorn, or at least wait until I have more mana for a spell or creature summon.

"Oh yes, I saw that too, over a thousand years banished into the Darkenss of the Abyss; has grated me the abilities to use any and every black crystal as window or a door way as I please . . . . SHE certainly has been hitting the sweets hasn't she? HER flanks are much larger than I remember."

Twilight expressed shocked scandal across her face at Sombra's words that would have looked better on Rarity, though I couldn't help agree with him when I compared Luna to Celestia. Despite the fact there were so many jokes that would have been better suited for Luna is she had the larger flank. Full Moon Rising would have been a great one.

"What SHE failed to take into consideration is that the year She sent me to the Crystal Empire. Was also the same year that the Great Dragon Migration decided to fly over the Crystal Empire, you can imagine the result. Upon setting their sight on such a tempting target." Sombra glared coldly at Twilight, while I suddenly understood why the Crystal Ponies had react liked they did to Spike. I had an all new reason to be sick.

Twilight, too innocent for her own good, looked to my rapidly paling complexion and Sombra's cold stare. "I don't understand, the dragon migration happens every year, the worse they would have done is steal a large amount of crystals and gems." She received similar looks from both of us that only added to her confusion.

Twilight nervously shuffled in place under our combined gazes, "What? My friends and I have dealt with dragons before. There was a dragon that attempt to sleep for years at the top of a mountain in Equestria that Fluttershy convinced to move else where so the smoke he created wouldn't block out the sun. We saw the Great Dragon Migration and had to rescue Spike, our baby dragon friend, when he ran off find out what dragons really like, they treated him horribly."

"You have with you a baby dragon . . . . that you brought here, to the Crystal Empire . . . . how have you not been stoned by the Crystal Ponies?" He spoke slowly as though attempting to explain something very obvious to a child before wondering out loud at our continued survival within his Empire.

"They actually did attempt to do so, but Twilight's shield spell and my quick thinking saved us. They lost interest once Spike was no longer in their sight." I explained, enjoying the expression of aggravation that appear on his face as he repeatedly tried to come to terms with us being his opponents. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.

"Simple explanation, like I am speaking to a child." He muttered to himself, before focusing on Twilight. "Dragons eat crystals and gemstone." nod "The Great Dragon Migration has hundreds of cranky and hungry dragons flying for days to weeks." more nodding "They deviate from their flight path to the Crystal Empire." slow nod "They landed in and around the Crystal Empire demanding food. The Queen tried to appease them by giving huge amounts of crystal. After giving them a great offering of food, the Queen and her Royal Consort were the first eaten alive."

I had been suspect something horrible, given the history of what one human will do to another at the worst of time, and all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Their hatred of Spike and attempt to kill him made sense in hindsight.

Beside me, Twilight rapidly lost coloring before turning green, I quickly look around and couldn't find any vases or pots. "Just lean over the pit and let it go Twilight." with that suggest she stopped trying to hold it back and vomited into the pit below as I rubbed a hoof along her back as she continued to spew.

"It would seem that SHE has sheltered you from the harsh realities of the outside world. You can't maintain courtly manners, you are ignorant of the outside world, you brought a dragon to the Crystal Empire, and he has given me more trouble while attempting to retake MY Empire than you have. What exactly, may I ask, is it that made HER take you as an apprentice.?" Sombra listed off flaws he saw in Twilight, with ever increasing aggravation. Even as she her body suffered from her attempt to dry heave after having emptied her stomach.

"I . . . I as a filly . . . while being tested for Celestia's school for Gifted Unicorns . . . managed to hatch Spike's egg, grow him to full grown size, and turned my parents into an agave and a cactus, in a burst of magical power. She was the only one that could calm me down and undue what I did." I had ripped one of the curtains to provide her with a something to wipe her mouth with after she finally manage to stop dry heaving and reply to Sombra's interrogation.

"That's it?" He questioned, obviously not satisfied with her response, "You have a burst of magical power that gets away from you and SHE take you under HER wing! If that had happened a thousand years ago, we would have had your horn fitted with a magic limiter until you learned to control your power!" Sombra raged from his position on his throne over Twilight being granted apprenticeship over having a large reserve of raw magical power. "I had to defeat over a dozen different Unicorns of various backgrounds all magically powerful in duels of a tournament to earn the right to be HER first APPRENTICE!

While Twilight had certainly put every effort into proving herself worthy of the title, to find out that your successor had been chosen based on raw power rather than magical skill and the ability to out think, out maneuver, and out spell all of your competition. Twilight may as well have slapped him across the with a glove in a challenge . . . . if they keep this up we could be here all day . . . . OH FUCK!

"Twilight! Stop talking to him! He has been stalling us this entire time! We need to find the Crystal Heart!" Sombra glared down at me as I interrupted the start of their one upping each other contest. Twilight eyes widen in realization of the time we had been wasting with Sombra, she screamed in fury and blasted him with a magic beam from her horn. It went straight through him and destroy part of the throne.

Despite the beam going straight through Sombra, he was completely unharmed, "You aren't here, not really, your body and full power is outside the barrier. You are projecting yourself, an illusion, or a ghostly reflection coming from the black crystals. Distracting us from finding the heart to defeat you." I spoke as I listed off how hey could be here without actually being here.

Sombra slowly clopped his hooves together, to reward me for figuring out his trick. "Well done, Planeswalker, well done. A pity that Twilight hadn't come alone, I could have kept her distracted until the barrier fell." I turned away in disgust that I had fallen for another of his tricks as we walked around the pit to the first few steps leading down. "Oh, do watch that first step." he called out from his position on the throne.

Twilight, unfortunately, turned her head back and questioned "What?" as I had been stepping down after her. I bumped her, she lost her balance, and went tumbling down the stairs. Her glowing horn shining in the darkness is the only reason I could keep track of her progress down the stairs until it stop down below and remained glowing. I released a sigh of relief, with her horn glowing she remained alive and hadn't broken her neck. I glared at the project of Sombra on the throne.

With my horn glowing as bright as a flashlight I carefully descended down the steps as quickly as I could without losing my footing. As I reached the bottom Twilight's horn flares up with Black Mana as she blasts a crystal above a door on the wall. Absorbing the energy of the spell the door swings open revealing the same stone wall as all of the rest of this pit. "Gothic, I think it's here!" she cheered before stepping in front of the door, stopping, and sitting down on her flanks. What the hell?

Slowly I approached from her right side, staying clear of the doorway, to find Twilight blanking staring ahead with her eyes filled with a sickly green glow. I poked her, "Huh?" okay she wasn't completely lost, "I don't know! I opened the door and-" scratch that she is still trapped "Go where?" and carrying on a conversation that only she can see or hear.

"Twilight! Twilight! Can you hear me?" I yelled while shaking her.

"I don't understand! The rest-" she remained trapped in the spell despite me efforts. I tried covering up her eyes, "But . . . you didn't say anything about no longer being your student." Not that didn't work, grabbed with my magic and dragged her away from the cursed doorway. "But . . . what do I do now." Damn it! That didn't break the connection either.

"You are wasting your time." I jumped and quickly turned around, laying across the ground in the shadows under the stairs rested Sombra.

"How? . . . No, never mind." I started before cutting myself off. Twilight had opened the way for him and now he would continue to manifest wherever we were to harass us. "What did you do to her!?"

"Mom? Dad? What is Trixie doing here-" Twilight question still trapped in the spell. "Why did you take down all of the pictures of me?"

He looked past me, staring blankly ahead . . . no glaring at something. I turned my head enough to keep him in one eye and looked up at the black crystal above the door. "They call them Nightmare Crystals one of the more 'creative' defenses of the Crystal Empire." He sneered at the mention of the word creative while glaring with hatred at the crystal. "They trap you in a state of a waking nightmare that steadily gets worse and worse. Only those of a powerful will can break out of the Nightmare and she has already given into the despair."

"You can't just cast me out and replace me with . . . this stage magician!" Twilight wailed beside us as his words became true.

I stared at him as the realization clicked in my head, "You were exposed to one previously, how did you escape from it!?" I asked desperate for a way to free Twilight from the spell. I hoped his hatred for the spell's existence would out weight his desire to stop us.

"When I was tricked into being exposed to one. The things I saw instead of leading me to despair, enraged to me such a great degree that my anger fueled my magic into an explosive release and the backlash destroyed the Nightmare Crystal. I wouldn't suggest destroying the crystal yourself, her mind is connected to it and may break along with it." His explanation stunned me, why would the Crystal Ponies create such defense much less use on an ally.

Unless, they didn't consider the three race of Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony allies. The three tribes of Equestria had centuries to learn to coexist, but the Crystal Ponies had their difference removed; perhaps in their mind being left behind to the Windigos and being saved by the Crystal Heart the only ones they trusted were themselves.

"Unless, you have some skill in the spells of the Mind, she will remain trapped and likely waste away unable to escape her nightmares." I paced at his words, the obvious solution of destroying the crystal risked Twilight's mind, the only one I knew of that had any experience with Mind spells is Luna with her dream walking who isn't here, and my Black Mana spell were the opposite of healing.

"Rarity-" Twilight's nightmare had moved on to her friends, "Rainbow Dash-" one by one going through her friends, "Applejack-" one link after another being torn from her, "Pinkie Pie-" tears streamed down her face with each name sounded weaker and quieter, "Fluttershy-" it was breaking her, "Spike! Not you too, please come back!" she wailed.

Okay, with everything else having failed, lets try the fairy tale approach to awaking sleeping beauty from nightmares. I approached Twilight, angled my head to go in for a kiss, our lips meet and my horn touched her horn-

"Gothic? Gothic are you okay?" Hi Twilly! Are you on the ceiling, is that a new spell, I can see your butt! Look at all the pretty stars! Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! I am giggling, why am I giggling, and Twilight isn't up side down I am. I tried to move only to find I am stuck. "Oh, here let me get you out of there."

Twilight's magic wrapped around me, pulled me out of the wall, and turned me right side up. I attempt to say (Thank you, Twilight, good to have you back) my mouth translated it at "ank o, ilg, od tve ou ck" my tongue numb and tingly provided me with no help. I waved Twilight off, she glanced over at Sombra, I shook my head, and she turned away to focus on Crystal above the door while keeping her distance.

I few minutes of working my tongue and mouth until I could feel it again. "Okay now that I know what supercalifragilisticexpialidocious taste like." I stated as I stepped up beside her, "Got any ideas on how to get past the Nightmare Crystal-" she shuddered at the name and memory of what happened, "-cause all I see is a stone wall behind this door."

"I have an idea." Twilight responds before using her magic to slam the door shut. Her horn glows with charging magic before blasting the crystal. It turns from black to white and the door opens against with a spectrum of light glowing through. She took a step toward the doorway, but I raised a hoof to block the pathway.

"My turn, you know more spells, so if it is a trap you will be better suited to rescue me." I stated broking no argument from her. She nodded and backed up while blushing. Oh great things are going to get complicated between us after this is over. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the doorway.

I looked left, then right, and finally up; Way Up. "Gothic? What do you see?"

"Stairs, lots and lots of stairs." I stared numbly in the horror at the sight before me, as a Unicorn I loved magic for how lazy I could be and still get things down, and as a human I had took an elevator whenever possible. This may as well be an infinite tower reaching into the sky, with the conditioning of my body. "Twilight, when this is over, remind me draw up schematics for an elevator to be installed in this castle."

She sighs beside me at the sight of the stairs. With a nod we galloped up the stairs side by side. Around and around the stairs we went, our surrounding unchanging as we went higher and higher, we couldn't even keep track of our progress.

As time passed going around and around, our galloped slowed, we switched to trout, after that slowed, we walked, finally as our walk slowed, and each step became painful to take. We collapsed on the crystal stairs finding their cool surface a relief against our tired, burning up, sweat soaked bodies.

"Why . . . . are there . . . . so many . . . . bucking stairs!" Twilight panted while coming as close to cursing as I had ever heard from her. If I had the energy I would agree with her, but I just mumbled into the stairs cooling my face.

"You need the magic of a Unicorn to reverse the magic of a Nightmare Crystal, but to reach the top of these stairs you need the strength and endurance of an Earth Pony." Came a familiar voice to answer Twilight's question, we both slowly turned our head to find Sombra on the stairs above us.

"I . . . hate . . . you . . . so . . . very . . . much!" I gasped out, as a projection or wraith or whatever of Sombra here before us couldn't get physically tired.

We laid there, before him in exhausted submission, trying to get our Second Wind and continue on our journey to reach the Crystal Heart. "Really? You hardly know me enough to hate me. When you have been banished into The Void, The Abyss, The Darkness between worlds by the one you love." Sombra stood over us as he spoke, his voice never rising in intensity as his eyes stared past us with a thousand yard stare loss in his memories.

"After you spend the next thousand years protecting your innocent subjects from Monstrous Horrors knowing that all of their suffering is collateral damage to your own punishment. Watch as the survivors of those attacks scream in insanity as they bleed out from their eyes, ears, and nose from the what they saw. When the only solution is to repeated cast a spell to give them amnesia so they forget the horrors they have seen." His eyes suddenly focused on us with startling force, "On that day, come and tell me of your hatred."

He turned away from us and stare over the edge of the stairs. "Gothic, the princess . . . she wouldn't . . ." Twilight began, only to cut herself off, too horrified to even speak the of the possibility. "The Fair . . . only a few dozen of the Crystal Ponies . . . I thought the rest where still hiding." We stared at Sombra's back, how many subjects and friends had he lost over years in the Darkness. Why would the Elements of Harmony banish an entire empire to it.

"How much do we really know about the Elements of Harmony? Where did they come from? What do they actually do? We know the result, but not the how." I began my explanation of asking the questions my research into them couldn't answer. "Discord, the embodiment of Chaos, is turned to stone both times it is used against him. Nightmare Moon is banished into the moon for a thousand years the first time, the second she is turned back into Princess Luna, but her power is weakened. They are used against King Sombra and it send him and the Crystal Empire into Darkness."

"Yes, each time they restored Harmony to the land." She added, while deep in thought. Each threat they were used against had a different outcome. Discord, both times used against him turn him to stone, but Nightmare Moon has two different outcomes from them being used on her.

"Which raises the question, what do the Elements of Harmony consider a threat? The Crystal Empire, effected the land good or bad, but the Elements removed it all together. Perhaps the Elements didn't like competition." I let the question hang in the air how much is it the ponies using the Elements of Harmony compared to the Elements of Harmony using the ponies. "Any ways this is a discussion for another time, any idea on how to reach the top of these stairs before Sombra gets through the barrier?"

Twilight agrees, while taking on a expression of deep contemplation, she looks up above at the smooth curving path that makes up the underside of the stairs above us. She twisted her neck in a manner that I thought only Pinkie Pie could do, as she examine her surrounding from a new angle.

"Hold on to me!" She shouts excitedly before lifting both of us with her magic. I don't think she quite thought this through, as the only way for me to hold onto her, has me all but mounting her. Just as we are about to hit our heads on the underside of the stairs above us, she turns us upside down, and I can feel gravity pulling my hooves to the underside.

"Whooaa!" she happily cheers as we begin sliding down? Up? The stairs at a rapid pace. I cling tighter to her barrel, any thoughts of our position replace by the fear of sliding off and falling to our death. I have to shut my eyes as we go faster and faster. "I actually studied gravity spells, thinking it might be on my test! Turns out I was prepared for this! Woo-hoo!" she happily informs me as the feelings of vertigo get worse.

"That is great! Twilight, just tell me when the ride is over!" I yell over her expressing her joy and the wind whips past us.

Crystal Empire. Top of the Crystal Castle.

On trembling hooves I step up onto the roof behind Twilight. I swayed from side to side, before giving up on standing and laid down on the ground. We had finally reached the end of the stairs and with Twilight controlling gravity we had walked back around onto the other side of the stairs to finish our ascent.

There were multiple archways around us all around us that we could see the full domain of the Crystal Empire, and beyond is the barrier sheltering all flickered in and out. At the center of the room floated the Crystal Heart; just like every single heart container from every Legend of Zelda game, just waiting for the Hero to pick it up. Like Twilight, herself, is reaching for RIGHT NOW!

"Twilight! Stop! Its a trap!" I cried out in warning. Her hoof came down on the inner area surrounding the heart, the heart immediately sank down into the floor, and the floor began to rumble and shake as something rose back up.

"For some crazy reason, the Crystal Ponies left the Crystal Heart out in the open for anyone to take for centuries." Sombra had reappeared to taunt us . . . again. As the floor bulged and rose up. "After the death of the Queen and I joined with the Crystal Heart to protect it. I gave it the means to defend itself." From the floor a mass of crystals rose up. One side broke off, followed by the other side that formed into arms. It rose up on trunks of crystal that made up its legs. Great, a Golem of the Crystal Heart, I may as well be in the Legend of Zelda at this point.

Twilight fired off a beam of magic, it splashed off the golem's shoulder to no effect. It turned toward Twilight and roared? How in the hell could it roar? It didn't even have a mouth. Twilight dodge out of the way and it smashed its fist down where she had been breaking up the floor and some of it falling off the tower.

I fired off a beam of my own that missed and hit one of the archways instead. Rubble fell down on the golem and took off a chunk of its shoulder. So immune to magic, but vulnerable to physical damage. Of course couldn't take too much of the environment apart or we risked collapsing the roof on top of us. The golem charged at me and smashed the floor as I stumbled out of the way. Also on a time limit, at this rate we wont have a floor to fight on.

"Twilight, magic wont work, use the rubble against it!" I yelled as the golem chased after me, repeatedly smashing the floor behind me as I ran away. Several chunks of rubble glowed with Twilight's magical aura before being fired at the golem and smashing into it. It turn toward Twilight and raise its arms to shield it. She kept launching them at a steady rate.

The golem suddenly lashed out and punched one of the chunks back at Twilight, it clipped her in the head and she fell to the floor as blood spilled out. "TWILIGHT!" I roared in anger and my magic responded grabbing or tearing out chunks of crystal from around me and fired the barrage.

Each chunk, launched with the force a cannonball, hammered the golem blow after blow pushing it back step by step until it reached an archway and only grabbing both sides around it stopped the golem from going over. The arms of the golem began regrowing as it drew in crystals from the archway, but at the shoulders they were still thin.

I had used up or shattered all but two chunk. As I gathered them up, behind the golem I saw the barrier fall. "Ah good, we can finally put an end to this farce. Even if you had retrieve the Crystal Heart you certainly couldn't get it down there before I reach the castle." Sombra commented from the sideline beside Twilight.

I realized there was only one way to end this and save the Crystal Empire in time. I set my sights on the golem, aimed my last two crystal chunks, and charged forward. I fired the two chunks ahead of me, snapping off the golem's arms at the shoulder, and jumped at the last moment to plowed into the chest of the golem. The golem tilted back from impact and went over the edge as I clung to it.

"Oh shit!"


	11. GOT 1

**Reviews**

 **NakedFury**

I only started to like MLP because my niece makes me watch it with her. Thankfully you now get something more grown up.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Game of Thrones 1**

 **The North. Winterfell.**

Jon Snow stood alone on the top on one of the towers of Winterfell, looking in the direction where The Wall was. He was now turning sixteen. He thought about his future often, since he had none here in Winterfell.

His lord father's wife, without uttering a single word, reminded him of that often with her cold looks. He was a bastard, and bastards like him never got a chance to inherit anything. Not when his lord father had five lawful children and three of them were his sons.

 _'There is no future for me here,'_ he thought.

Then he looked at the direction of The Wall once again. He thought about Night Watch, which his Uncle Benjen had joined. He had been told that taking the black to serve on The Wall was the greatest honour in the North, or perhaps the whole Westeros. Any man could join the Night's Watch and would be treated as a brother as an equals. Perhaps there was future for a bastard like him at The Wall.

"What are you doing up here, Jon?" a voice asked.

His father, Eddard Stark, appeared from nowhere it seemed and soon joined Jon in viewing the wilderness beyond Winterfell.

"Nothing, just admiring the view, father," Jon lied.

There was nothing much to admire around Winterfell. Not on a dark night like this when the clouds covered both the moon and the stars.

"You can tell me, son" Lord Stark urged.

Jon hesitated for a moment, but soon spoke the truth.

"I was thinking about Uncle Benjen and the The Wall" he said.

Lord Eddard Stark frowned for a moment.

"Were you thinking about taking the black?" he asked "You have no idea what will you give up once you join the Night's Watch".

Nor any idea of what it was really like at The Wall.

"I'm a Snow" Jon said simply, repeating his earlier thoughts "there's no future for me here in Winterfell".

Centuries ago most men who took the black were noble and honourable men, if that was still so then perhaps he would let Jon join without debate. Alas, the Night's Watch was a shadow of its former glory.

"What about the South or the Free Cities?" Eddard wondered.

Jon responded by shaking his head in disapproval.

"I don't have any other trade aside from the weapon in my hand, and I don't want to disgrace the House Stark of me becoming a sellsword" his son replied "Besides, the North is my home. There's no greater honour for a Northerner than joining the Night's Watch".

Perhaps that had once been true, now the Wall was little more than a penal colony.

"You could become a knight," Eddard suggested.

There was a long silence before the two burst into laughter, removing the depressing atmosphere within moments. Only it didn't last long as something distracted the Warden of the North.

"Jon, did you hear that?" Lord Stark asked.

The younger man looked around.

"Hear what?" he asked.

Soon, he picked up the strange sound that his father had already heard

"Is that a shooting star?" Jon wondered.

A screaming shooting star it seemed.

"Perhaps," the lord of Winterfell replied "Let's see where it lands and tomorrow we can looking for it".

The older man had never seen a shooting star that seemed to fly so close to the ground, nor one that sounded as if it was screaming as it went across the sky. He felt that it might be a bad omen, that or something amazing had come from the stars above.

He was mostly right.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Westeros.**

That had not been fun. I'd come out of the Void while up in the sky, and while my plan to float gently to the ground using unicorn magic hadn't worked out quite right. I'd not hit the ground that hard, but it had still been enough to knock me out cold.

When I was able to move again I found that I had hands, and how I'd missed those, and normal legs too, with feet and toes. Also I still had a penis so things were looking up. As an add bonus I was dressed in the same clothes I'd been wearing just before first visiting the Howling.

It hadn't been a smooth landing, it had given me bruises, my jeans were ruined. And then I got some more bruises mostly due to my return to human form. I'd gotten used to having four legs, and now I had two again. So I spent a while re-learning how to walk. It had actually been easier to figure out four legs than it was to go back to two. Which seemed odd to me.

Once I was standing up, and able to move around like a grown up. I looked around, at the endless fields, woods, distant mountains, and clear blue sky. No doubt I'd be making use of a lot green mana while in this land.

Next I went over my inventory, limited as it was. I had my backpack, which was empty, the contents must have fallen out without me noticing. Aside from that I had my Mox Diamonds that were now on a bracelet around my wrist. I had one black mana, one white, and one green mana, which made sense as I'd woken up on the edge of some woods. So I had enough for some very basic Planeswalker magic.

That was when I tried to use a spell Rarity of all people had taught me to repair my clothes, she'd shown me how to do back when we'd super busy getting Cadence's wedding back in order.

It worked even without he horn, however the spell took a while to work and it was very draining to perform. I nearly collapsed while trying. Either performing Unicorn magic without a horn was extremely difficult or I was in a world without much magical energy to call upon. I might be limited to what mana I could gather and what I had internally, which just about enough to mend clothing.

I hadn't even meant to come here I'd just want to get away from that Golum thing that had been blocking my magic at close range. My plan had been to come back to the Crystal Empire.

Clearly something had gone wrong, only I didn't know what. I was still new to the whole planeswalking business, so it could have been my mistake, yet it might not be. I still understood so little about navigating the Blinding Eternities.

The why mattered little really. I was here, where ever here was, and I couldn't leave right away. Planeswalking too soon after already doing so would be dangerous, which meant I was stuck here for a while. I figured I might as well make the best of it. Besides given how hard it was to use even simple spells it I might not be able to Planeswalk even if I tried.

I soon found out where I was once I started looking around, and that made me feel giddy, followed by scared, and after I decided that I might live long to leave if I was very careful. And if I was going to survive in this realm then Winterfell, which was now right in front of me, was the best place to go.

Winterfell was mere walk away, and if there was anywhere in this world I might be safe it was this place, it didn't looked burned down and it wasn't covered in snow, so it seem likely that the Starks were in charge around here. Also while it was cold, it wasn't that cold, so I figured winter wasn't here just yet.

As I walked I studied Winterfell in more detail, it was just like in the show, but now I was seeing it for real. Which made it far more impressive.

It was not perfect in any way, it had that worn look to it, like it had been subjected to bad weather, sieges and direct attacks in the past, and it wasn't quite as repaired as it should be. Suggesting that perhaps they couldn't restore it.

Although they had to be do something right because after thousands of years, it was still standing. This place was older than Stonehenge, many, many centuries older. I remembered from somewhere that it was eight thousand years old, older than Stonehenge, older than the pyramids at Giza.

Yet while this told me that these humans here had a civilisation older than mine, at least in terms of recorded history, if they couldn't repair Winterfell correctly that suggested that they actually regressed somewhat in terms of technology. Which was strange.

Magic wasn't a powerful force in this world. I confirmed that much when I tried to use unicorn magic to bring a stone into my hand. Although that might have something to do with the lack of a horn. However I suspected I wasn't the problem.

I wondered if magic's decline had some halted the process of this civilisation or if it had something to do with the seasons that lasted years. Perhaps it was something else.

Could be due to reliance on magic, magic was a potent force in this world up to and even somewhat during the reign of the Targaryens. The Valyrians wielded magic from what I knew, and much of their bloody conquest of the Valyrian Freehold was enabled by their command of sorcery.

Therefore there could have existed some form functional sorcery beyond military use, it was easy to imagine how technological advancement could play second fiddle to the study of magic. Like in Dungeons and Dragons: why invent electricity and or make a gun, if I can conjure lightning from my hands and throw fireballs around.

As magic waned throughout much of the world, most of the kingdoms of Westeros and maybe Essos would find themselves in a dark age. That would explain why they couldn't repair Winterfell correctly, or build things like The Wall, they needed magic to do so.

Then there was education that would BE exceedingly rare and hard to come buy. In Westeros, knowledge was controlled by the Maesters at The Citadel in Old Town.

To be educated at The Citadel required becoming a Maester. This would involve losing things like a nobles rank and right to own land, and as such very few would be tempted to join. Plus only the nobility could afford to send their children to become Maesters. As such the path of the maester deprives noble families of an heir, much like sending your children to join the Night's Watch. In fact, sending a child to become a Maester might just be a way for nobles to 'get rid' of troublesome potential heirs. But this was just a theory.

Another explanation might be the seasonal patterns. Stable agriculture capable of reliably feeding large populations is a key step in a society's development, and the weather patterns of Westeros would make that near impossible. In my world, we always have a pretty good idea of when, and how long, winter will last. In Westeros, winter can last for years at a time, and the only forecast you have are the Stark words: "Winter is coming". This combined unpredictability and extreme length of winter would make long-term investment difficult, and could be a major barrier to moving past subsistence level farming.

One problem this theory was that several areas of the world do not meaningfully experience winter, such as Dorne, and they don't appear to be any more advanced than the kingdoms further north. Additionally, even if economic growth was significantly reduced due to the weather, you would still expect to see some level of development over 8000 years.

No something else was going on around here. There was something else, aside from the seasons, holding these people back, and I wanted to know what it could be.

"State your reason for entry" the guard at the gate said sternly, but not unkindly.

I'd been so deep in thought that I hadn't fully realised that I'd made all the way to Winterfell. I had to be more on my guard, this was a dangerous world.

"Just a traveller." I said simply while shifting my backpack onto my other arm "I have a few good to exchange, but mostly I'd just here to see the sights".

The guard snorted, probably thinking that I was some minor nobles idiot son. Not that I'd blame him. I was wearing odd clothes and I didn't have the same accent he did.

"All right, go on, then" the guard said.

He stood to the side and I walked past him, into Winterfell. I already knew where I was going and knew the way to go.

(Line Break)

 **The Godswood. Winterfell.**

I approached the tree slowly, feeling a thrum of power running from it into the earth. It was barely a power line when compared to the nuclear reactors that were the Crystal Empire and those caves under Canterlot. But it was still powerful enough to draw me to it.

I touched the face of the tree, and I half expected to be driven to my knees by intense visions. Only nothing happen, at first, and when the visions came they were just short lived images in my mind.

A dragon, the dead, the mad king shouting 'burn them all' Jon Snow with Longclaw facing something I couldn't see. Wildfire, dragon's fire, 'burn them all' army of the dead.

That actually seemed rather straightforwards for magical visions. The White Walkers and their army could be defeated with either dragon's fire or wildfire, and Jon Snow was going to fight them. Not very cryptic.

"And who are you?" someone asked.

For a moment I'd thought that was the Three-Eyed Raven speaking, but when I looked around I saw Lord Eddard Stark, he was standing there in his furs and armour, carrying a great sword, and looking exactly like Sean Bean.

Hopefully this meant I'd arrived on a plane of existence that featured characters that all looked like they did on TV. If nothing else it would led to me being confused less about what was going on and who was talking to me.

"I'm Gothic" I introduced, before realising that being more formal might be helpful "Baron Gothic of Canterlot. Explorer, and adventurer. I'm just here to see the sights".

Clearly my arrival had not gone unnoticed. It shouldn't have as while I looked dirty from the road I also looked healthily and my clothes were fine quality even if they were messy. I did not like a member of the smallfolk, as the peasants were known here, nor was I carting around goods as a merchant would. Plus I unarmed while alone, that had to seem odd.

"I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North" the man told me.

It wasn't very well done, but I bowed a little. I wasn't sure of the protocol, but the lord didn't seem offended.

"What is a Baron?" he asked "Is a rank, you do not seem like a solider to me".

It was a struggle to provide an answer.

"A noble rank" I told him "Above a knight, but less than a lord. You don't have the same rankings for nobles here than they do at Canterlot so its hard to explain".

The Warden of the North studied me for a moment before asking something else.

"You sound as if you're from the North" he said "More than some of the men at my command".

Well I was British.

"Lot's of places have a north, my lord" I replied "But if your wondering where I am from you won't know it. My home is beyond Essos or even Sothoryos".

Which was true, I was from further away than those continents, and I felt the need to change the subject before he requested more details.

"I was drawn to the godswood as soon as I arrived" I told the Warden of the North "I hope me being here isn't a problem".

The Lord of Winterfell shook his head.

"Beautiful, isn't it." Eddard then said, while laying his own hand on the tree.

Indeed it was, also the face was a little scary. Perhaps the Children of the Forest had carved it that way in the belief it would scare away bad spirits. Like gargoyles on a church roof.

"Yeah." I agreed wholeheartedly. "I've never seen anything like it. I read that the Children of the Forest carved faces in these trees."

Which was true. I had read that.

"Aye." Lord Stark confirmed,

It looked so much more supernatural seeing it like this, and the red sap made it look like it was crying tears of blood. Yet while it looked scary, I got a sense of sadness when looking at the face.

"It is sometimes said" Lord Eddard told me "That no man can tell a lie in front of a heart tree, as the old gods know when men are lying".

That was an interesting tidbit of information, and it explained why'd he questioned me here rather than have me brought to him. Nothing I'd told him was a lie, and he believed that. A good test.

Also I was sure he'd brought Ice with him just in case I admitted to being a spy or something like that, as I was sure that there were guards nearby, even if I couldn't see them. Ned Stark was a man of a honour, but that didn't make him overly trusting.

"Truly an amazing tree " I said again, before giving him a short bow "I'll be on my way. Good day, Lord Stark".

The man gave me a respectful nod.

"Likewise" he said, before sitting under the tree.

(Line Break)

 **Winter Town. Winterfell**

Not long after leaving the godswood I'd found myself in Winter Town. It was named as such, because the smallfolk as they were called, migrated here during the wintertime. I was sure it had to with the heat of the hot springs. They would also explain why people here seemed cleaner and healthier than I would have expected for a medieval setting. Regular baths would help a lot when combating disease.

Currently there were a few people, here and there, but I could tell that the town's marketplace could hold up to perhaps ten times the amount of merchants and shoppers it currently had. Another thing that caught my eye for a few moments had been the town's brothel.

While legal it was not at all tempting to go inside. Morals aside, who knew what sort of diseases these girls carried? These people didn't know the first thing about science, let alone something as complex as the idea of sexually transmitted diseases.

Still there were things I wouldn't be able to avoid. Like lice for example, but there were ways to deal with such things. Unicorn magic was very useful in such a setting, there was a spell for everything and I'd made careful notes and I'd found a spell that would keep me free from fleas and such, an important spell when you were a pony.

The room I had rented out was much smaller than the one I'd had while in Canterlot. Thankfully I didn't have need for all that much space to begin with.

I'd paid the inn keeper a single gold coin, those used in Canterlot and Ponyville, and that was enough to last me a few weeks, and to get me some silver in change. I'd had to haggle a little as the man hadn't seen coins like mine before. But one of the upsides of having a currency backed up valuable metals was that gold coins were worth something everywhere. Still it would be best to visit Winterfell's treasury and see if I could exchange some thing for local money. If nothing else I needed copper and silver coins just so people didn't have to keep giving me change from a gold coin for everything I brought.

By evening I was talking and sharing a meal, with Jon Snow, who I was sure had been sent by his father just to keep an eye on me, but we started getting along fairly quickly, possibly all that friendship magic I'd been exposed to was helping, and he was now telling me that he was planning to go join the Night's Watch.

I got the sense that he didn't get to talk to many new people. Also since his father was an honourable man I was sure that Jon hadn't been asked to keep a watch on me, more to keep me out of trouble than to get information. I was a stranger to this land after all so there was nothing wrong with the local lord having someone look after me, not if I was also a noble. Letting me get killed would be dishonourable.

Aside from that Jon was annoyed because his father had left him rather than let him to go out looking for the falling star. The locals had a legend that a fallen star was metal that could be forged into a magic blade, or some such silliness. Little did they know that I had been the falling star.

"Once my father gives me leave I'll be off to join the Night's Watch" Jon told me as we drank some more ale.

This was not something I wanted to encourage as it would led the man's death. I'd deal with the White Walkers myself some time in the future, I had years to prepare and access to other worlds. If needs be I'd steal some nuclear devices, or maybe just summon a dragon and deal with them that way.

"You're not serious." I said incredulously, which wasn't acting as the real life prospect was horrifying once you thought about it "You want to join that band of criminals?"

Jon bristled when I said that, saying that his Uncle Benjen was part of the Night's Watch, and no criminal.

"I'm sure he's not." I placated. "As I'm also sure there are honourable men in that order".

Like Lord-Commander Mormount.

"But The Watch's new recruits are almost always criminals" I went on to say "The Night's Watch gets most of them from the dungeon's of King's Landing. Everyone knows that".

Apparently Jon didn't.

"When I arrived at King's Landing I saw a brother in black inspecting some men in a cage, and asked around about what he was up" I lied "I was told they were rapists and thieves bound for the wall".

I'd told Jon that I'd come from far away and had arrived in the Seven Kingdoms via a ship that docked in King's Landing. As such what I'd just told him didn't contradict my story.

"Most choose the knife or even the head men's block over living the rest of their lives in such a cold and inhospitable place, even it means losing their freedom entirely or their heads" I then said.

Jon was silent as he absorbed these words.

"I'm sure your Uncle Benjen is an honourable man" I then assured "Your father is certainly that, and I know you are, too. But you're a young man. There's a lot of things you could do with your life before making a big decision like this".

The bastard frowned. I'd bet a small fortune he'd heard a few people tell him that there were others things he could do, and that he didn't believe them.

"And what do you suggest?" Jon said a little heatedly. "You think I haven't thought of it, either? I'm a bastard".

He spat the word out like it was a curse. Which is was.

"Who would take me, if not the black brothers of the Night's Watch?" he asked.

This I gave some thought.

"I'll hire you if you want work" I offered "I don't give a shit about bastards, it doesn't matter to me if your mother and father weren't married when you were born. And I could do with someone who can teach me to ride a horse, to use a bow, and fight with the sword.

He still looked unsure, but I figured I could tempt him into at least delaying going to the Wall. Perhaps he had to go, perhaps fate demanded it. However that didn't mean he had to go right now.

"I'll be heading to The Wall after I see the king" I then told Jon "I've heard it's an amazing structure. I plan to see it up close. You can come with me; see what these black brothers are like before making your decision, and until them I'll hire you to teach me how to use the sword, the bow, and ride a horse. I'm only a minor noble so no one will care who I hire, and it will be as a local guide, and a bodyguard, a companion on the road, not as some servant or hired sword".

He was the son of Lord Stark, it would be very dishonourable for Jon to sell his sword as merc, or to say go work in an inn, but taking him into my service as a bodyguard/guide was a different matter.

"You can talk your father first, get his approval, we wouldn't even be gone that long and we wouldn't leave until after the king arrives" I was now saying "The Wall isn't that far I'm sure, but it all wilderness between here and there, with both you and Ghost at my side I'll be safe".

The bastard of Winterfell gave my offer some thought. He didn't know me, so leaving with me right now would be impossible, but the king wasn't due to arrive for another few weeks. That was plenty of time to plan our trip.

"All right." Jon said, still a little reluctantly. "When the time comes, we ride for the Wall...if only to simply see what it's like".

Now that would be an adventure.

(Line Break)

 **Somewhere North of the Wall.**

"He is still within my sight," said the voice in the dark.

Leaf raised its eyebrow and looked at the Last Greenseer. They had all felt it, the arrival of the World Walker, and the Greenseer had seen him, in the place called Winterfell.

"He is on the path" the Three Eyed Raven said "He will go north then south".

This was confusing to the Children.

"How is he on the path if he goes in the wrong direction?" Leaf asked.

The Seer soon answered.

"A path is not always straight, it is no matter. He is on the path" he said.

Leaf still had questioned.

"And the boy?" it asked.

The seer nodded.

"He will hear and come, when the time is right" the old man said.

This was good news

"When will that be?" Leaf asked, excitedly.

"When the time is right," was the answer.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Winterfell.**

Two weeks had now passed since I had offered to ride for the Wall with Jon Snow. It was a little strange that the King wasn't here yet; but I figured moving a large force of men with many provisions, would take a lot more time than it would back on my world. So naturally there would be delays. It would probably take another week or more, I reasoned.

I'd used the waiting time well enough. In the mornings I would meet with Snow and spar against him. You could learn to use a sword well enough to kill a man in a day, but even after two weeks I hadn't come close to being even a novice with the blade. Hours had been spent with Jon and I trading blows. As the master-at-arms, Ser Rodrik, watched. I would've defeated him easily using my magic weapons, but if I went from barely being able to hold a sword to a master swordsmen people would wonder what was going on.

Plus there was the fact that real fights are never one on one so it was good to get some training. It was different in the Magic: The Gathering game were you had one creature face another, then it came down to the numbers on the cards, but in a real battles things were crazy.

Sure I had my magic, but in this world it wasn't the everyday thing it was for the ponies. My magic was impressive to them, but they didn't fear it because casting spells was a normal thing. Here that wasn't the case, magic swords were okay, being a great warrior was fine, but magic spells were not so I couldn't go around acting like a great mage. Plus there was the fact that magic seemed weak here. Hopefully it would get stronger or I'd never have the power to Planeswalk again.

I also spent time with Jon that didn't involve him getting to hit me. He'd taught me to use the bow, which thankfully I had some talent for, and he'd also instructed me on how to ride a horse. We'd gone riding often enough that I'd been able to gather enough mana from woods and meadows to refill my Mox Diamonds when required. But compared to before it took a long time.

As we'd spent time together Jon had even opened up about himself, at least a little bit. I didn't think he'd ever had any close friends. As he'd opened up to me I saw that with other people he was very guarded, always carefully choosing his words carefully when speaking to them and he maintained a safe distance from people, emotionally not just physically.

An exception was his siblings, cousins really, who mostly treated him like one of their own, especially the little girl, Arya. Sansa didn't pay him any mind at all, but that was kinder than Lady Stark, who seemed to treat Jon like something the cat had dragged in.

Which was somewhat understandable as in her mind Jon was a living reminder of her husband being less than faithful, and also he was a threat to her children's inheritance, albeit a very minor one since he was a bastard.

Another thing I'd done was create magical weapons and armour (Magebane armor, Illusionist's Bracers, Swiftfoot Boots, and Sword of Vengeance) I didn't think anything other than a dragon or a major demon would be able to harm me as long as I wore the armour and carried my sword. Well not unless they struck a weak spot. I wasn't sure how it would work. Which was why I would soon create the Amulet of Kroog along with Alexi's Cloak, although it would take a while to gather that much mana in this low magic world.

I was sure that I would be able to create even more powerful artifacts in time, but the thing about my deck was that it kept changing. Thankfully any mana I had could be used to create an artifacts, which I was sure was against the MTG rules.

"Gothic?" Jon said as he approached me, seeming a little unsure.

I figured this wasn't good news.

"Yeah?" I answered.

I was starting to worry.

"Ah... Well." Jon started, before taking a quick breath. "My father has requested that I invite you to dine with us."

That was the what had him so worried. I don't think he could looked more nervous if I'd be his boyfriend in this situation.

"I'd be happy to dine with you" I told him "Lord Stark is a good host".

That was when something struck me as odd.

"But, what about Lady Catelyn?" I asked carefully "It doesn't seem like she want your friends joining you for a family dinner".

She didn't even like her kids hanging around with Jon so I could not imagine she approved of Jon's friends getting anywhere near her true born children.

"She did not approve" Jon said. "But father insisted on it."

The whole situation screamed of a doting father making sure his son (possible nephew) wasn't interacting with the wrong kind of people. It was good to know that Eddard Stark was looking out for Jon like that, but if he cared that much it seemed odd he'd let Jon go to The Wall. He had to know what it was really like. His brother would have mentioned it.

"Well I won't disappoint your Lord Father" I told Jon "Tell him that I would be delighted to attend, and that I thank him for the invite".

His shoulders sagged in relief as Ghost trotted over before lying at my feet. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours, or so it felt and I wondered what was the matter with him him now.

"We should probably head in for dinner" Jon said quietly.

Oh now it made sense. He'd meant dinner as in tonight's meal, he should have mentioned this sooner.

"All right, you go on ahead, I'll catch up. It's in the Great Hall, right?" I said, giving him a brief smile "I just need to change"

Jon nodded and left me to run and quickly get dressed into something that was not covered in dirt. Also I planned to spend some of the little mana I had left on a present for the Starks.

Now I really felt like Snow's boyfriend. I bet the fan girls envied me.

(Line Break)

Temple. Somewhere In The East.

The fire danced before her gaze, spinning and hissing angrily in the darkness. She sat alone, as she sought divine answers in the flames. In this solitude, her eyes roamed over the fire that burned brightly, watching the scenes that took place within it.

Melisandre could feel her eyes moistening as she stared breathlessly into the flames. It was all so amazing beautiful. The prophecy would come to pass, just as the Lord of Light had promised.

Then the scene changed, and she felt frantic, and fearful as the red priestess looked closer.

 _There was something, no someone here, that should not be here._

Melisandre tried to tear her eyes away as seeing these sights upset her, but the vision was not yet complete. She was seeing a person, a man with great power slaughtering her own Order.

 _Who is this man?_ she wondered.

The red priestess fell away from the alter, chest heaving. She was burned. The fire had burned her, that was impossible. When she stumbled to a mirror, the charred skin had disappeared and her flesh was flawless once more, like the burns were never even there. She noticed the jewel at her neck glowing softly, feeling a small prick of heat from beneath it. Stroking it gently, the red woman took a deep breath to regain her composure.

Melisandre turned her mind to the vision. She moved away from the mirror. Lighting every candle in her chamber, she made sure the room was alive in a warm glow. It might have been a childish thing to do, but she didn't care. Darkness was beginning to wear on her, and she drew comfort from the light.

As she began to think more clearly the woman realised what she needed to do, this man, this man with such power, was a great threat to her Lord's planes and his willing servants. He would need to be dealt with. The only real question was: How.

She knew his face, and she had felt his power, but she did not know where he was, or how he could be defeated. She needed more knowledge so she returned to the fire and looked for more answers.


	12. GOT 2

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Game of Thrones 2**

 **The North. Winterfell.**

"Good, you're here" Jon said when I arrived.

He looked a little sheepish. I really hoped that he wasn't about to introduce me as his boyfriend. I wasn't, we were both into girls, but it seemed awkward on that level.

"Are they all here?" I asked.

That would be not only Lord Stark, who I had spoken to just one, also the children and their mother. I wasn't a fan of the female Starks. Arya was the typical little sister, getting underfoot as such only an annoyance, but Sansha and Lady Stark were very judgemental people. They both looked down on Jon, and also me since I was his friend.

"Yes" Jon confirmed, and led me through a few doors and into to the great hall.

The room had eight long rows of what I thought were called trestle tables, four to each side of the central aisle; they could fit a hundred people inside this place, yet right now it was mostly empty.

There was a raised platform, where everyone eating was currently seated. I had assumed that I would be made to sit on the bottom, since I was not a proper noble, but then, Jon would also have to be down there as well, since he was a bastard. Which wouldn't make it much of a family dinner.

I took note of who was attending this dinner as I approached the table. The most animated was Arya, who kept messing about with Rickon and Bran, as well as Sansa. The older sister I figured she was about thirteen, judging by her height; she had thick auburn hair, and blue eyes which were currently glaring at Arya. Next to them, Robb and Theon ate their meals while chatting away about one thing or the other.

Even further from them, Maester Luwin sat, enjoying his meal in relative silence, as was Lord Eddard and his wife, Lady Catelyn, who noticed our presence long before everyone else did.

When they did the large hall quieted, and I started to fell as if I had been put on display.

I tried to bow in the proper way, but some part of me just refused to do it correctly. The only two people I'd ever bowed to were pretty much goddesses, so Lady Stark and Lord Stark didn't make me feel socially inferior. Lord Stark was impressive for a noble in that he didn't look down on people, and always spoke with respect, so he was worth treating the same way, but that didn't mean I was going to grovel.

"Lord Stark." Jon said formally "Lady Stark".

Oddly formal from Jon considering that this was his family, but I'd half expected it. Lady Stark would likely take offence if he called him 'father' in front of people like me.

"Jon" Eddard said warmly as Catelyn gave a stiff nod.

Snow then got on with things.

"May I present to you, Baron Gothic of Canterlot" Jon said, while gesturing at me.

It amused me that that Jon Snow had just used the word: Canterlot.

"A pleasure to meet you again, Lord Stark" I said "Thank you for inviting to dine with your family, its quite the honour, and please forgive my lateness it took me longer than expected to change into something suitable".

I'd had no warning, but I felt no need to embarrasses Jon by pointing out that it was actually his fault.

"And please accept this gift" I went on to say "I hope it pleases you".

It was just an Ivory Cup I'd made, it had cost me barely any mana to bring into existence, and it was small enough to rest in the palm of one hand, but it looked as if it had been carved by a master craftsman, and it was real ivory, or so it seemed. Also it was magical, but it shouldn't anything for anyone who wasn't mage. Even if it the cup was white mana so hardly dangerous.

"Please, sit down" the Warden of the North invited after accepting the token.

It was examined briefly by his lady wife who seemed pleased.

"Thank you." I said and took the seat adjacent to that of Jon

I was near the boys, but still close enough to speak to everyone . I had a feeling they would ask me many questions. Also I greeted the Maester as I sat down, he had taken a seat that allowed me to sit next to Jon.

"Maester Luwin" I said.

I'd been to Winterfell's library a few times, mostly just to check out books that contained the information on the history of the Seven Kingdoms. As well as texts on the geography of this world so that I could more easily fake being from a far off nation.

"Baron Gothic" he said with a nod.

Last time we'd met he'd not be so polite. Mostly because I'd gotten upset about leeching, the act of using leeches to draw blood from people as a form of healing, a really stupid idea, and I had expressed as much.

"You know each other?" Lord Eddard asked in slight surprise.

I nodded to confirm this fact.

"Ah, yes." Luwin said with a slight smile. "I happened upon him reading a book of... History, was it?"

It had been, I'd been reading it before the heated debate.

"Yes" I confirmed

I then let him continue.

"We ended up discussing our opinions on certain practises at length" the man with the chain told his lord.

I started eating at this point, taking small bites so that if I was asked a question I would be able to answer in short order.

"So, Baron" Lord Stark said "What brings you to Westeros? I never got the chance to enquire when we met in the godswood".

I noticed that Lady Catelyn was also looking at me as the man spoke.

"Well, my lord I have been travelling the world" I told him "Seeking knowledge and wonders, the North has been amazing, so far. I plan to see the Wall. After meeting the King. Then I will move on. There's much to see, and learn".

I then helped myself to some venison, having taken a liking to the meat during my time in this world. Although the first time eating the stuff I'd had images of poor sweet Bambi, which had somewhat ruined dinner for me.

"Forgive me for asking, but I'm curious." Eddard said "and since you intend to take Jon with you I think I've a right to know. What will you do once you have seen the Seven Kingdoms".

Well I intended to leave this world, but I couldn't tell them that.

"I don't really know" I told the lord "Perhaps buy some land. I have gold and knowledge of things could benefit the Seven Kingdoms".

I'd already introduced pizza. It was just flat bread which cheese and sauce right now, but it was a big hit at the inn.

"Have you considered starting your own house?" Maester Luwin questioned "With enough wealth and after giving service, gaining a title is possible"

I took a moment to answer that. I didn't intend to stay here in the long run, because this place was fucked up.

"Perhaps in the future." I said "For now there is still much to learn and too see, and I have knowledge to share as well".

The Maester grabbed this opportunity.

"I would be glad to discuss subjects of interest with you" he offered, before turning to his lord "Such as my duties permit it".

Lord Stark had no problem with this.

"I'm sure we can spare you for a few hours, Maester" he said "I myself would be interested to learn some of what the the Baron has to offer".

That statement seemed innocent enough, but I wasn't so sure. Then again maybe he'd tried the pizza. It was very good.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Winterfell.**

"Charcoal, sulphur, and... potassium nitrate?" Maester Luwin wrote down.

Ever since dinner I'd been spending at least an hour every day trying to spread a little knowledge to the people of this world that could help them advance. Rather unsurprisingly the subject kept becoming war. This was after all a dangerous world were warfare was common.

"Hmm, should probably introduce you to the Periodic Table" I mused "It might help if you had a greater understanding of the elements. Potassium nitrate is also called Salt-peter".

This was all so hard to remember, and the only reason I remembered this much was because fireworks were used by the ponies, and somepony had lectured me about them when I'd asked if they were magic. This had been just after Shining Armor's wedding during the big party.

"It may seem like an odd combination of substances, but this material is what changed the nature of warfare where I am from" I told the man with the chains "Gunpowder isn't anything special really, its how those substances react under certain conditions: when exposed to even the smallest spark, this stuff will explode. Rather violently in fact".

Since I didn't know ratio of the mixtures involved, or even if I had remembered correctly what gunpowder was made of, and I didn't think they would be producing muskets any time soon, but Maester Luwin was very eager to record everything I had to say and I had offered to share knowledge.

"How potent is this mixture?" asked the Maester "More deadly than wildfire?"

I recalled the part of the show when the green fire destroyed most of a fleet. That was a bit more than what gunpowder could manage. That was more like napalm.

"Actually, no," I told the man "From what you've told me of the stuff, it sounds a great deal more volatile than gunpowder".

Too much so.

"But, if it isn't as deadly as wildfire, how could this 'gunpowder' change the course of warfare?" Maester Luwin wondered.

For a moment I thought more on the matter.

"While wildfire may indeed be more deadly than gunpowder in terms of explosive potential" was now saying "there's a reason you don't use it its too powerful, and not terribly reliable, it can explode before you deploy it, so its a bad option on the battlefield. Gunpowder is dangerous, too, if handled improperly. But there's the kicker; it can be handled properly. Not only that, but it can be used as more than just something to blow up an adversary with. As to how it can change warfare forever...".

I stopped to think again, trying to find a way to phrase this right.

"Imagine for a moment that you're a common soldier, and that you have an enemy knight barrelling towards you, wearing full plate armour on horseback. A crossbow might work, if you're lucky. A longbow requires years of training and by the time you ready to fire the arrow the knight is too close. Fighting in close quarters is not going to work out well, because he's much better trained, armed, and armoured than you are. Now imagine having a weapon which can harness the explosive properties of wildfire by channelling it down a narrow metal barrel".

Which would be a kind of flamethrower, and not what I was going on about. Would be useful against wights, but it would be far more likely to kill the people with the flamethrowers.

"Okay picture this. You ignite the gunpowder in the barrel, then the weapon can propel a small piece of metal at incredibly speed. That small piece of metal will shoot out of the weapon with a massive amount of force, and punch through the knight's armour in an instant" I then said "The faster an object moves the less mass... that is weight it requires... to do damage".

Mass and weight weren't the same thing. Mass is the actual amount of material and is measured in kg, gm, etc. Whereas weight is the force exerted by the gravity on that object. As such while your weight would be different on the moon as it is on Earth, your mass remains the same. But since they wouldn't be fighting on the moon that hardly mattered

"Like how a stone throw by a child will hurt far less if it hits than one thrown at you by a man with a strong arm" I was now saying "Its not just the weight that matters its the speed".

Luwin continued furiously writing his notes.

"Like how a crossbow bolt is smaller and lighter than an arrow" I tried to explain "The bolt will go through armour because it moves faster, and has more force behind it. An arrow is larger, but it is limited by the strength of the person pulling back the bow. If the power behind the bolt or arrow was gunpowder it would move much faster, and therefore do a lot more damage even in the projectile is is much smaller".

I'd tried to explain this already, and only now was my lesson starting to sink in.

"This… this is incredible," The maester whispered, part in awe and part in fear. "If I understand what you are saying, if harnessed correctly, these guns you mention could render any form of armour obsolete".

Well any kind of armour they could make. Kevlar had some use even with guns around.

"That's not even the half of it," I continued. "Now imagine what would happen if you scaled it all up, made a big barrel, firing a giant ball of metal, using even more gunpowder. At a certain point, even the walls of your castles would be made nearly useless. Let that sink in for a moment."

Maester Luwin did just that,

"It is… certainly a great deal for me to grasp" he said "Do you intend to share this knowledge with others?"

I did not.

"No," I said firmly "All due respect, maester, but I don't think you fully understand the possible ramifications this weapon would bring about."

Maester Luwin looked confused, which was hardly an uncommon expression with me around. Just explaining the physics and chemistry behind a gun was talking a long time.

"What do you mean?" he asked "This weapon could give power to the smallfolk, could make them into more than just fodder for knights to ride over, there would be no more need for knights...".

It had just clicked.

"Because then anyone could kill a knight" Maester Luwin was now saying "or bring down a castle's walls, no where would be safe, and there would no need for knights, and perhaps no need for lords as well".

I nodded.

"That's what changed warfare in my world" I said "That's why I don't know how to use a sword or fire a bow, because I never needed to learn until now. Soldiers where I am from could kill even the greatest knight in your lands with ease".

Understandably the maester burned the paper he'd been writing on.

"Why don't we talk about something else" he suggested.

That was a good idea.

"Well let's see what I remember about CPR" I said, while remembering how I'd saved Shining Armor.

I was so going to have to planeswalk out of here and hit up a proper library.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Winterfell.**

It was around a week later, that King Robert finally arrived. By this point I'd made and sold minor artifacts, and then had used the money to dress myself as a noble. I'd also gifted a few minor things to the Stark family which had gone down well. Nothing that useful or dangerous. As such I was living as a noble, which made things better for me.

Plus while I'd never be a great swordsmen, I was getting real good with a bow. I'd been out hunting with Jon, and he'd taught me to fish as well as how to track game. So I at least knew the basics of tracking prey.

My time with the Maester hadn't been a waste. I'd not been able to pass along that much knowledge, as I was no scientist, however I was sure that in time I will have added to knowledge gathered at the Citadel in Old Time. Perhaps once I had left this world, and had found somewhere with the Internet, I could come back and give them what they needed to advance like my society had. Hopefully with less bloodshed, although that seemed unlikely here.

"Baron?" I heard a voice call from my right.

It was the Warden of the North, decked out in his Lord Stark regalia as opposed to his every day wear.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I looked around, a bit nervous, wondering what I could have possibly done wrong.

"Oh." I said "I'm not exactly sure where I should be standing".

I was a noble, but not one that really fitted in with their feudal system.

"Well, come on, then." Lord Eddard said as he gestured for me to follow "You can stand next to Maester Luwin, and next to Jon".

I didn't like the sound of that. That would put me near the front.

"I know I'm Jon's friend, but..." I started to say.

He didn't let me finish.

"Nonsense." replied the lord "you are a guest of House Stark and a noble, whether you like it or not."

He'd quickly picked up on the fact that I related better to the common folk than I did the lords and ladies, but that didn't stop him from treating like someone who mattered.

Inviting me to live in the castle, were I could work with Maester Luwin hadn't made me feel more like a VIP even if I was actually important. Granted I'd invented things in attempt to improve the lives of his subjects, as well as give out gifts, but I didn't think the North having the cheese grater (which helped with making the pizzas) made me worthy of being Lord Stark's honoured guest.

Still I complied with his wishes. Moving quickly I went and stood next to Maester Luwin, who gave me a quick greeting, and Jon. Lady Catelyn glanced at me shortly, before grimacing at the state of my hair I guessed, as the rest of me looked good. I tried to flatten it down as she looked away, while cursing my father for the scruffy gene I had to have inherited from him.

A few minutes passed as excitement turned into boredom, before turning back into excitement again, as the sound of hooves hitting the dirt reached our ears, which signalled the arrival of the King and his court.

"Burn them all" I whispered to myself, very, very softly.

The first to come in sight was a golden-blond haired boy with green eyes, and a sneer. He was flanked on each side by men wearing gold armour with white edging, and long, white cloaks. The Kingsguard

Another intriguing sight was a third rider from behind the boy, a very large man in heavy looking, black armour, with a helmet in the shape of a snarling hound's head, hiding his face. The Hound.

I followed the prince's line of sight, and noticed Sansa making lovey dovey eyes while smiling at him. This would be no surprise to me even if I'd never watched Game of Thrones. Sansa took all the romanticised ideas about being a noble into her head as a sponge took in water, her mind had filled itself with images of prince's being just like heroic knights on white steeds coming to save the day. Reality was going to be a shock for her.

I shook off those thoughts, as a large carriage, followed by more Kingsguard came in, with a fat man in the middle, wearing the same dark red out as the prince. I knelled as everyone else did, not wanting to stand out as I watched a few servants drag a mobile wooden staircase for him to dismount onto.

He was the fat git he was on the show. Only more so, he wheezed as he moved. And had enough facial hair to make me look as I wasn't even trying to grow a beard. He dressed well enough, but while he was about the same age as Lord Stark, he hadn't aged as gracefully that was clear.

"Your Grace." Lord Eddard formally greeted.

A moment passed as the King gave Eddard a once-over.

"You've gotten fat" the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms said rudly.

I saw Lord Stark tilt his head down, right in the direction of the King's gigantic gut, and the man narrowed his eyes before laughing and embracing Lord Stark.

The tension seemed to drop away as he also embraced Catelyn Stark, exchanging a short greeting with the Lady of Winterfell.

"Nine years." King Robert said. "Why haven't I seen you? Where the hell have you been?".

Here, doing his job. Unlike his friend.

"Guarding the North for you, Your Grace." Lord Eddard said. "Winterfell is yours."

The carriage door opened, and out came a beautiful, blond woman, a little dishevelled but still making it look good, somehow. She stared at her surroundings in distaste, as if simply being here was a horrific experience for her. The Queen.

"Where's the Imp?" Arya asked her sister, looking around.

In the silence her words carried far.

"Will you shut up?" Sansa shot back, harshly.

Siblings never changed no matter what world you went to.

"What have we here?" King Robert moved to the children, shaking hands with Lord Stark's eldest true born. "You must be Robb."

He passed by Sansa, complimenting her on her looks, before leaning forward to Arya with a strange look on his face.

"And your name is?" the king asked.

I was sure he knew. If Lord Stark was his friend they must have exchanged letters.

"Arya" she answered immediately, looking him right in the eye.

One brave kid, to be sure. Either that, or she had no survival instincts whatsoever. Thankfully her boldness seemed to please the King.

My attention then turned to one of the Kingsguard who had taken off his helmet, revealing the same golden blond hair as the woman currently walking towards Lord Stark. The Kingslayer.

"That's Jaime Lannister!" Arya said excitedly "The Queen's twin brother!"

He looked more handsome than I remembered, of course this was before he'd lost a hand and had made been a prisoner.

"Would you please shut up?" Sansa said again, growing more and more irritated with her sister.

Thankfully Arya was ignored.

"My Queen" I heard Eddard say as he kissed the woman's hand,

This greeting didn't take long.

"Take me to your crypt." King Robert cut in "I want to pay my respects".

This was not taken well by his wife.

"We've been riding for over a month, my love." Queen Cersei Lannister said, more than a hint of disapproval in her tone. "Surely, the dead can wait a few hours"

Like Ayra she was ignored, if this was common behaviour then I could sort of empathise with the Queen for cheating on her husband. But not with who. Incest was just yucky.

"Ned" King Robert urged.

With a little hesitation, Lord Eddard went with the man, leaving us all alone in the courtyard with the rest of the royal family.

Then everything turned into a flurry of activity as Lady Catelyn took charge, and showed the royal family where they would be sleeping while all of the people of Winterfell began the final preparations for the feast.

I turned my attention to Jon as I knew the guy wasn't allowed to go to the big fancy dinner because of his bastard status, something which pissed me off to no end. Still I had told Lord Stark I would come to the feast, and I intended to keep my word. After all I had introduced some dishes that would be fed to the royal family. Pizza had just been the start they'd not even thought to put cheese inside a freshly baked potato, the barbarians.

"Let's go get a drink" I said to Jon.

Neither of us would never use the whore house, or even sleep with a serving girl, because of the risk of unwanted pregnancy if nothing else, although I was starting to weaken on that. That didn't mean we enjoy the company of tavern maidens, who would sit in our laps and listen to our stories about hunting and fishing, if we brought them some wine.

"Then you can mock my taste in clothing before I go to dinner" I offered.

That made him smile. He liked mocking my attempts to act like a lord more than he did flirting with girls. Perhaps because he was so bad at the later.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Winterfell.**

I heard the noise of the feast long before I actually got there; a cacophony of music, raucous laughter and even the odd squeal of delight. I entered the Great Hall, and went into the main dining chamber. No seemed to notice me so I looked around.

It was packed, with people eating, drinking, laughing, and talking, as a bard played a tune I didn't recognise, even after weeks of me being here in this world.

"Gothic!" I then heard Robb call me over. "I saved you a seat".

I nodded and waved before making way over to the boy in question. He was sitting alone, looking relieved to have someone to talk to at last. My eyes strayed to the side of the room, where Theon was sweet talking a serving girl. Not for the first time I considered murdering him for what he would do, but I hadn't done anything as he was pretty much still a kid at this point. He was only sixteen in fact. Murdering children was beyond me.

"So Greyjoy abandoned you?" I asked with a smirk.

The young lord nodded, and I wasn't that surprised to see him alone. He was the heir to Winterfell and therefore had to be careful about whom he made friends with. They might be seeking to influence his father through him, or spend all their time currying favour with Robb now for returns later when he ruled The North. I also knew his mother wouldn't like him hanging with me, but we'd gotten to know each other a little since I'd dined with his family. He was a lot like Jon in some ways, only more prone to smiling and laughing.

"Aye." Robb answered, while looking at what I was carrying "Is that a spear?"

It was a Spear of Heliod, something I had conjured up as a gift to the king, and then had wrapped in cloth. If the card was correct the weapon should help against the boar that was due to kill the king, assuming he used it, and while it was powerful, it didn't look too magical, no more than Stark's Great-sword Ice did. However it looked very well made, a fine thing to give a ruler.

"A gift for the king" I told him "I have something for your father too, but I thought it best to present that in private. Lord Stark doesn't seem the kind of person who wants a big fuss made over him".

For a guy who ruled what was pretty much an independent kingdom Lord Stark was a humble man.

"I didn't know you brought much with you" said Robb.

Quickly I lied.

"My luggage arrived from King's Landing just as the king himself did" I said "The courier must have gotten caught behind their convoy".

Given that the a lot of people and goods had arrived in Winterfell as the royal family had it would be easy to accept this.

"What do you plan to give to my father" the young lord wondered.

A Darksteel Axe, not as impressive looking as the spear, but more useful and the weapon couldn't be destroyed. I imagined it would look good up on the wall.

"You'll see" I promised.

My gaze turned to the Prince, who was ogling Robb's sister, Sansa. The girl in question kept sneaking looks at him, before talking to the girl beside her in excited, but hushed tones.

"The fabled Imp, Tyrion Lannister" Robb then whispered to me.

I couldn't make him out because of the people in the way, so I just grabbed my wine goblet and began drinking.

(Line Break)

 **The North Winterfell.**

The following morning as I approached the table Jon and Robb sat upon, I saw that their food was completely untouched. Their faces were marred with lines of worry, and I really wished I hadn't been drinking last night because I'd suddenly recalled what must have happened to Bran.

As I remembered how he became crippled and, more importantly when and why, I cursed myself. I'd let that slip my mind, but upon thinking about it I realised that I could fix this, and I might have to.

It was something I'd not noticed until now, but there was no Hodor here. I couldn't have missed someone of his size, and I'd never heard of anyone called Hodor while here.

That might be because I heal Bran, and thus he never goes to the Three Eyed Raven, as such never influences the past, thus not turning some poor boy into Hodor.

"What's wrong?" I asked the half brothers, or possible cousins "Did something happen?"

They didn't answer for a long moment.

"Bran, he..." Robb said finally "He fell off one of the towers. They found him early in the morning, he'd been lying there all night. Maester Luwin doesn't know if he's going to survive".

All night? Why had no one found him sooner?

"Even if he does." Robb swallowed hard. "His legs, they're bent in.. he can't..."

Now I felt strongly compelled to act. It was weakness perhaps, caring for others like this. I blamed Twilight and her friends for making me this way. Hopefully I'd stop allowing myself to get attached to people.

"Where is he now?" I asked.

Robb either wouldn't or couldn't say anything further.

"In his room." Jon answered in his place.

I nodded, then and left the Great Hall to make my way to his room. I got lost, as I wasn't particularly good friends with the boy, he was much younger than me, after all, and as such I had no idea where his room was. But by following the increased presence of guards I got to the boy's room.

"I'm here to see Bran" I told the guards "Is the Maester here?. I think I can help".

The guards didn't argue, and when I got inside I found Lady Catelyn at Bran's bedside, looking like she'd been crying a lot, and she kept stitching something together in worry. Lord Stark also sat there, his face grim and made of steel, though it was obvious he was struggling to hold all of his feelings in check what with his boy lying there in his bed, looking so weak.

Maester Luwin, on the other hand, was a busy bee, he was checking the boy at a rushed, but methodical pace, making sure his temperature was normal, making sure he kept breathing, and generally checking his vital signs. The man looked tired and weary, having worked like this through most of the morning I guessed.

A few steps in, and they noticed my presence, all three looking at me.

"I came as soon as I heard." I said simply, moving closer "I want to help Bran."

They didn't answer, right away.

"Gothic" Lord Eddard said, seemingly struggling to say the words. "I.. I don't believe you can..."

He stopped when he saw me sorting through my cards.

"All I ask is for the chance to help him." I said, while picking out the card I needed.

I then looked at Bran. His skin had lost most of its colour, and his breathing was ragged. It was heartbreaking to see. I couldn't understand why anyone would ever willing hurt a child.

"Close the doors and the windows" I instructed "No one must see or hear what I am about to do".

I didn't want to be branded as a witch. No doubt those Sept guys who worshipped the Seven had a 'suffer not the witch to live' rule. They seemed the types.

"And what, exactly, are you about to do?" Lord Stark said while standing to his full height and glaring down on me.

He didn't look at all intimating, he was too upset to really get mad.

I'm going to heal him, Lord Stark" I told him.

Lady Stark was hopeful, but confused as well.

"How does locking the doors and shutting the windows heal my Bran?" Lady Catelyn asked.

That was hard to answer.

"What I'm going to do will either heal Bran or not effect him at all" I explained "So you have nothing to lose, and I will try on one condition."

This was important.

"What is it?" Lord Eddard asked, surprisingly calm sounding.

I took in a deep breathe.

"That you tell no one of what I'm capable of" I answered "No one can know, not ever. You promise me your silence in this matter, and I'll heal Bran, or at least try my hardest."

Luwin looked dubious. However Lord Stark and Lady Stark were parents, they'd at least consider making a deal with the devil himself to help Bran. What real parent wouldn't?

"Do it." the lord said.

I turned to look at Lady Catelyn, who had spoken.

"Save my son." she said, trying to hold back her tears. "But if you are lying..."

I'd have to planeswalk the hell out here. Which I was sure I could now I felt much stronger magically now than I had in weeks.

"Maester" I said "I need you to straighten Bran's body. I know you don't want to move him, but if he heals wrong they'll be nothing I can do. Lord Stark you need to hold Bran down in case wakes us as I heal him. If he thrashes about his legs could also heal wrong".

I used the card Heal the Scars which should regenerate a person or creature in exchange for less than half the green mana I had stored away. That might not seem like a lot, but with this kind of power I could have summoned a mighty creatures or turned someone into a giant, really it was overkill just to heal a human child, but it worked

Once it was done I let out the deep breath I hadn't even realised I'd been holding. Lord Stark and Maester Luwin looked astonished at my accomplishment. I backed off for a few moments, and then fell to the floor. So much power had passed through me into Bran, it was intense. Thankfully I was able to pick myself up again.

"Is it done?" Lord Stark asked after a long silence.

I nodded, and it was clear to see that Bran was breathing more strongly. His legs were also bending the right way.

"Why did you not speak the truth?" Lord Stark asked "This is magic like in the stories".

I waited a few moments before speaking.

"People fear what they do not understand." I said "and even if they didn't fear me I'd be pestered all day and night to heal everyone, or to perform tricks for their amusement. I'd never be able to live my own life".

The Warden of the North considered my words for a short while.

"Nothing will be spoken of what happened here" he then commanded "If anyone asks Bran's injuries were not as bad as we first thought, and by the grace of the old gods and the new we believe he will recover shortly".

Better people think it was a miracle than I end up being chased out of this plane by people shouting 'burn the witch!'

"Thank you, Lord Eddard" I asked.

The Warden of North smiled at me.

"Ned." He corrected. "Those who have earned my friendship may call me Ned."

The maester spoke next.

"We won't know for sure until he wakes up, but I think he will indeed make a complete recovery" he said.

That made people smile.

"When will he wake?" Lady Catelyn wished to know.

The Maester didn't know, that I could tell from his expression.

"When magic is involved I can not be certain" he admitted "I have never seen such power before, and if I had not just seen what I saw I would deny that magic even exists, however I am sure that the best thing we can do now is allow Bran to awaken of his own accord. I suggest not letting him move about too much too soon, and he no doubt be very hungry when he awakes".

That seemed wise, although with regeneration there might be no need to be careful at all. Still best not to take a chance, this wasn't a game. Well it wasn't a game of Magic: The Gathering.

"I'll come back later to check on Bran" I said as I moved to the door. "If you need me, I'll be in the godswood."

I waited until Lord Stark gave me a nod, before leaving without another word. I moved through the stronghold, noting all of the sad and withdrawn faces, glad to know that they would change into happiness when they learned that Bran was going to be fine.

I went in the godswood, and zoned in on the heart tree at the centre, taking in its splendour and size once again as I approached the ancient tree. I placed my hand upon it and saw the same visions. There was no difference as far as I could tell. If that was good or bad I simply didn't know.

Someone other than Bran might become the next Greenseer I guessed. Also I figured that I'd have to deal with the Others. All I needed was a dragon, and I had cards for those. The tricky part would be finding the White Walkers, the lands beyond The Wall were vast and they had blizzards to hide in. I might have to wait until they attacked the Wall before I could destroy them.

Which meant I had to come back to this plane one day to make sure the White Walkers were dealt with, but it would be years before they were a true threat, at to anyone I cared about, I had time to plan, and grow my power.

Besides what were White Walkers compared to a Planeswalker?


	13. GOT 3

Author Note

This chapter took ages to write. It better be liked.

Planeswalker Gothic

Game of Thrones 3

The North. Winterfell.

After visiting the godswood, the hopes of getting a vision to guide me, which I didn't get, I found the Stark children, and Jon in the Great Hall. They seemed very much like a united force right now. Sansa and Ayra, delightful little psychopath that she was, were even getting along. Only the youngest Rick, or whatever his name was, hadn't joined the group.

"Before you ask, he's not awake, yet." I said before anyone could ask for an update "I'm not really sure when he will wake up, but he will and I'm sure he'll have quite the story for us, like why he was climbing the tower at night, and how he could fall when he climbs with such skill".

This didn't change their mood much, but it wasn't as if I could tell them I'd healed him with magic.

"Aye." Robb said. "Bran has always been sure-footed in the past"

I'd watched him climb, he wouldn't simply fall. Besides I'd seen what happened, or at least a version of those events.

"What are you saying?" Jon asked "Do you think Bran was pushed".

Robb and I shared a look which signalled that he was quickly coming around to the idea.

"Yes, I think someone pushed him." I said slowly.

Sansa gasped.

"What!?" Arya said, finally catching up "We have to find whoever did this!"

Her older siblings shushed her.

"And do what?" Jon asked her "Bring them to justice? We need proof, and we won't get proof until Bran wakes up. Only he knows what happened last night".

That wasn't the only way.

"Then again, maybe not." I said.

A few moments passed as they all looked at me.

"Gothic?" Jon asked in concern "What are you thinking?"

No doubt he was worried about me being reckless.

"Its time for some CSI: Winterfell" I declared

That got me blank looks.

"I'm going to investigate the place he fell from." I said to the Starks and the Snow "to see if I can find any clues as to what happened. Its called being a detective".

No that this meant anything to them.

"We're coming with you" Robb stated.

I sighed.

"You guys don't know the first thing about investigating a crime scene. You don't know what to look for" I said, before realising that I had to take at least Robb with me to make it anything close to official "Robb should come with me, but everyone else should stay here and wait for news of Bran, and listen to what people have to say, you may overhear something important".

Robb forced his siblings into line and soon followed me.

(Line Break)

 **Tower. Winterfell.**

"Someone was having sex here." I said as soon we entered the room, where the smell seemed to be strongest.

The room itself was covered in a heavy layer of dust, with the exception of one spot, where the dirt was cleared away. Also there was candle wax on a table by the window.

"I'm thinking that this tower is normally empty judging by all the dust" I said to the young lord "but someone was up here last night, after nightfall we know that as they lit a candle. Bran could have seen the light, come up here to see who was in the normally abandoned tower, and then seen someone having sex".

Even if I hadn't already known it would have been easy to figure this out. It was all right in front of me.

"But who...?" Robb asked.

I noticed that he didn't question me on how I knew all that, but farther than talk about it I knelt and examined the ground carefully, my eyes catching sight of something incriminating. Long strands of golden hair. Lannister hair. And, among the Lannisters here in Winterfell, only one had hair this long.

"So, the Queen pushed Bran?" Robb asked me upon seeing the hair "Why would she push him out of a window, the king is known for his whoring, it would make him angry, she'd be embarrassed, but why try to kill my brother?".

I didn't come out and say it.

"Unless she was doing it with someone that made the whole thing a little more... controversial" I said, carefully choosing my words "It would have to be someone who the king could not forgive her for having sex with".

Robb thought about it.

"The king's brothers did not come to Winterfell with him" he said.

Well yes that would be worse than her screwing some random guy.

"She's definitely having sex with someone" I said as I found semen stains "but there's no evidence to suggest who other than the Queen is willing to kill a young boy to cover it up".

I couldn't just come out and say it was the Kingslayer if he took offence and challenged me to a duel I'd either die, have to kill him with magic, or back down, thus weakening the Stark case, or starting a witch hunt.

(Line Break)

 **Winterfell. The North.**

Robb and I left the room just as I had found it, before making my way back to Bran's room, both to check up on the boy, and to speak with his parents. I noticed a Kingsguard standing outside, and so was not surprised to see the Queen leaving the room. No doubt an assassin would be hired very quickly. I'd have to be on alert.

"Gothic." Eddard Stark with a small smile. "Come to check on Bran?"

That was part of the reason.

"Yes, Lord and Lady Stark." I confirmed, and then added. "there's something else, too."

I closed the windows as Lord Stark spoke.

"Something else?" he asked curiously.

I quickly explained what Robb and I had found, and the conclusions we'd come to.

"Pushed? What do you mean" Ned repeated, a hint of alarm in his voice as his eyes went wide. "You mean to say he was pushed?"

I nodded.

"Who could..." Catelyn stopped herself.

She was thinking about her guests judging by her suddenly looking at the door.

"Robb and the others had told me that Bran has always been sure-footed, and, they're right. I've seen him climb those same towers with ridiculous ease. So, I investigated the tower he fell from. In it, I found traces of wax on a table, the smell of sex, some clean patches among a lot of dusty parts, and a few long, blond hairs."

I left that statement to hang in the air.

"The Queen?" Lady Catelyn said, looking a little ill as she shared a look with her husband. "She was just here".

No doubt planning how to silence Bran for good now the injuries from Bran's fall wasn't going to do it for her.

"I know." I said calmly. "I don't know who was in that room with her, but there's at least enough evidence that proves she was there".

I had to be careful not to say too much as I had no proof it was the Kingslayer who had been in the tower with her.

"But, that is not enough to prove she pushed Bran off of the tower." Ned argued logically "Bran may have fallen due to being surprised, or frighted".

That did sound reasonable. Hopefully Bran, who was now waking up, could provide more answers

"Bran?" Catelyn shouted, hugging him tight to herself.

That went on for a while. There was much drama.

"It's all right, my son." Ned said once his wife had let go at least somewhat "No one will hurt you here".

A moment passed and he didn't speak.

"Bran tell me, were you pushed?" Ned asked gently.

Slowly the boy nodded.

"What happened?" Ned continued.

Bran clutched at his mother tighter, and sunk deeper into his covers. He was afraid.

After a few more minutes of soothing and coaxing, and Bran told the tale. Apparently, he had found the Queen and the Kingslayer, having sex, though he said he didn't understand what he saw, but he was a smart kid, so he would have quickly figured it out.

Then he described how the Queen ordered the Kingslayer to push him out of the window, which was not what happened in the show or the books I was almost sure.

"And, she was just here" Lady Stark was now saying, trembling in rage as she levelled her fearsome gaze upon her husband. "With her insincere platitudes and offers of prayers".

Ned stood up straight.

"This will not go unanswered" he promised.

The lord moved to the door.

"Ned!" Lady Catelyn pleaded, and he stopped to listen. "We cannot! It's Bran's word against the Queen's".

This didn't seem to matter to the Lord of Winterfell.

"No." Ned said before turning once more to leave. "It matters not whose word it is. The Queen must answer for her crime".

Here and now would be best.

"Lord Stark's right." I said in agreement, intending to join him in whatever he planned to do next "This is a deliberate attack on your family. To simply answer it with inaction invites them to attack you again. Maybe next time, someone will actually die".

Eddard nodded in agreement.

"Well spoken." he said "The time to act is now, in my home, with my loyal swords besides me. Where can not Robert refuse to listen".

That was when something struck me, not physically, it was a thought. If Ceresi ordered Jaime to push Bran that meant she wouldn't be above sending someone else to kill the boy right now, and then let them be the scapegoat.

"What if Queen Cersei sends someone to, um... 'take care' of witnesses?" I asked,

Ned was shocked at the suggestion.

"She wouldn't dare" he shot back.

I hadn't to make sure he didn't do anything too stupid. If nothing else I didn't have enough green mana to heal Bran again.

"She dared to have him thrown out of a window." I argued "What's to stop her from hiring an assassin to finish the job before Bran tell the king what happened. She could have hired swords in her company. That man in the dog's helm, The Hound, do you think he wouldn't harm a child for the right price".

Perhaps he wouldn't, but it wasn't worth taking the risk. Enough gold could tempt someone into doing insane things.

"I will leave a force of guards here." Lord Stark said after a few moments. "Jon will be among them, if he's to guard you on your travels then he might as well start protecting people now"

Lady Catelyn was about to say something, but quieted at the look of her husband. She glared at me instead as if it was my fault. Her attitude towards Jon made me angry he'd never done her any wrong and she seemed to heap all of her hate on him, and for what?

"As you wish, Lord Stark" I said, before smiling at Bran. "Glad to see you're okay".

He was already sitting up, which was a very good sign, hopefully he'd live to climb again.

(Line Break)

 **Winterfell. The North.**

Moving quickly I followed Lord Stark through the stronghold until he reached Ser Rodrik, the master-at-arms of Winterfell, Robb, Jon and the others were out here too. Perhaps they didn't feel safe indoors knowing that someone had tried to murder their brother.

"My Lord" Ser Rodrik greeted with a short bow.

Ned wasted no time.

"Send a force of guards to Bran's chambers, along with Jon. Have then stand guard inside and outside of the room." the lord ordered immediately "Then, gather the rest of the men."

Jon looked at his father, then at me, before understanding dawned on him. He was smart enough to know not to argue if nothing else.

"My Lord?" Rodrik asked in confusion, looking at our grim faces. "What has happened?"

Lord Stark leaned forward and whispered a few words to the man. His face shifted from happiness, to shock, then finally, anger and grim determination.

"I will gather them, at once." he said as he moved like a man half his age.

Jon followed him immediately.

"Now, what, my lord?" I asked after a few seconds. "We just confront the King?".

Seemed bold.

"Indeed." Lord Eddard confirmed. "Robert will not attack us, he respects guest rights, but there are many Lannister men among his own"

I nodded my agreement. They were loins and like any beast they would fight most savagely when cornered, even if it was a pack of wolves that had them trapped. They wouldn't simply give up.

"You solved this mystery" Ned then said to me "I will need you to tell the king everything you told me".

That would not be fun.

(Line Break)

 **Great Hall. Winterfell.**

There weren't many people in the Great Hall, but there were enough here to worry me. I saw Jaime and Tyrion sitting at a table, exchanging quiet conversation with their sister the evil Queen. The King was at another table, eating like the fat pig he had become, while another of the Kingsguard stood behind him. I hadn't seen this one before, he was old. White haired and bearded.

"Ned!" King Robert called "I heard the news of your boy's recovery".

That had been fast, he'd just woken up. Then again perhaps the queen had mention that Bran should wake up soon, after visiting him.

"Come, sit down!" he yelled "Celebrate your good fortune".

That wouldn't happen.

"I cannot, Your Grace." Ned said stiffly as we stood in front of the table.

The ruler wasn't happy to hear that,

"You shouldn't be so damn formal all the time" King Robert chided gently.

He hadn't noticed the growing dark mood in the room.

"I'm afraid there is a matter of grave importance, Your Grace." Ned informed his friend.

The King sat up.

"What is it, Ned?" he then asked.

He looked very upset about the interruption of his meal, and was soon levelling an annoyed glare at Eddard, who stared back icily.

"Well?" The King said after a few seconds. "Out with it!"

So Ned told him, in formal words, about how Bran had woken up saying that Cersei had him thrown off of the tower by ordering her brother, who'd been caught fucking her, to push the poor boy. The King didn't answer, merely giving everyone an unreadable look.

"This is preposterous" Ser Jaime said, standing up to the accusation.

I couldn't hold my tongue.

"It's all true." I said, getting everyone's attention. "I went to the top of the tower and in that room I found a few long, golden hairs on a spot on the floor that had been cleaned of dirt while the rest of the room was still filthy. On the table, I found wax from a candle recently lit. On and a smell that could only be cause by things of an intimate nature."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"It could have been anyone!" Jaime argued.

Not so.

"Like I said I found long locks of golden hair in the room" I reminded everyone "and Bran confirmed whom I suspected without speaking to me on the matter".

King Robert hadn't said a single word, so far.

"Your Grace." Ned said firmly. "There must be a trial. Here, and now. I accuse the Queen and your Kingsguard Jamie Lannister of conspiring to murdering my son, Brandon Stark".

He didn't give the King a chance to try to dismiss all this. Which was good because the Queen tried to make him. She talked about grief making Lord Stark mad.

"Justice must be served. It will be served" Ned then said.

The tension was so thick that you couldn't cut it with a knife.

"Are you absolutely sure of this?" Robert said in a placating tone to his long time friend. "This is a grievous accusation, Ned. If you're wrong".

Lord Stark nodded emphatically.

"My son spoke the truth" was all he said.

The King gave orders to have the Great Hall made into a makeshift trial room. The large chamber exploded in a flurry as tables, chairs and the like were moved to a semblance of a courtroom.

It took a while, but eventually things were made ready.

"I will be the judge in this matter" Fat Robert stated, taking a seat at the high table "The only judge".

He'd declared it but Ned didn't simply accept it.

"So long as you consider the evidence fairly, Your Grace." Lord Eddard said "Then I know you will be just"

That seemed to appease the king, preventing any argument, as he ordered all the people who had gathered to sit down. They complied.

Once everyone was quiet the King muttered a few words under his breath (probably curse words) before he began the impromptu trial.

"I, King Robert of House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, do hereby call this court in session" he said before turning to his wife "Cersei, of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister. Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Jamie of the House Lannister, Kingsguard. You stand accused by the Warden of the North, Eddard Stark, of attempting to murder his son, Brandon Stark, by throwing him out of a window up on the abandoned tower."

A series of gasps and exclamations filled the air, despite most of the people here having already heard this, but the people were quieted down immediately by the glare from their King.

"Did you attempt to kill Brandon Stark?" King Robert asked.

It was not a question that could be avoided.

"No" they both said

I saw Lord Stark bristle in anger at their denial. Fat Robert merely nodded, before speaking once more.

"The Crown calls its first witness: Baron Gothic of Canterlot" the King then said.

Heads turned to me as I made my way to the chair on the left side of the high table. The whispers quieted down as I took my seat as I was left trying to remember when he'd heard my title. Must have been when I gave him the spear.

"Tell me how you learned of the crime" the monarch ordered.

Soon I complied.

"I've not known Bran for long." I said with a nod. "But, over the past few weeks, I have watched him climb around Winterfell with an ease".

No one could call me a lair for saying that.

"He was always sure-footed." I said with as much certainty as I could muster. "And he has been scaling those towers for a very long time, this is well to everyone living here in Winterfell".

I then spoke some more.

"So, the fact that he fell at all was strange to me." I said, deciding to leave Robb and the others out of it "The fact that this happened in the night time, even more so. Why would a small child be climbing an old, abandoned tower in the middle of the night?".

I let the people think on that for a few moments.

"So I went in the abandoned tower to see if there were any clues" I was now saying "I ended up in a room which looked to have been used for adult activities. There was a small area that was free of any dust, while the rest of the rest of the room was quite filthy. This meant that someone had been there very recently. On a nearby table there was candle wax, from a recently lit candle. Also there was..."

I stopped for a moment, not sure how to broach the subject.

"Go on, then." King Robert ordered. "Speak."

I did as I was told.

"There was a smell, Your Grace." I said. "As I mentioned before the room reeked of actions of an... intimate nature."

That caused whispers to break out and another call for silence.

"The smell was that of sex, Your Grace." I restated loudly "I know it well enough".

More whispers, but they didn't last long.

"You do not need to continue your explanation." Robert said "Your evidence is clear enough. Someone was up in the tower, and they may have pushed young Bran. But, that does not place my wife and her brother at the scene of the alleged crime. How is it that you're sure that the Queen and my Kingsguard were in that room".

I took something out of pocket.

"I found long, golden locks of hair on the floor, Your Grace." I said "The only woman with hair this long in this colour is the Queen. Later, Bran, himself, told me and others that Queen Cersei was in that room with her brother".

At the mention of the boy, Robert's face took on a grimace. He looked at his wife with a strange expression. I much doubted that he cared about her frolicking around with other men, but he definitely had a problem with her trying to kill his best friend's son.

"Very well, then." Robert said gravely, doing a good show of hiding the anger on his face. "Your words have been noted, return to Lord Stark's side".

His choice of words made me wonder if he thought my life was in danger for having spoke. Which it was.

"Thank you, Your Grace." I said formally.

Things soon moved on.

"The Crown calls for Lord Stark" Robert said next

Eddard stood up, straight-backed and proud, then he moved to the witness seat.

"Your son Brandon has awoken?" Robert asked.

He was quickly answered.

"Indeed, Your Grace" Ned answered gravely, despite this being good news "And he had much to say"

A long, heavy moment passed.

"Tell us what he told you" the King ordered.

Lord Stark did as commanded.

"He was climbing, as he often does, and happened upon a sight which he did not understand. He was afraid to even speak of it at first, but I assured him that no harm would come to him." Eddard spoke, before shaking his head in disgust at the woman who caused the boy's suffering. "Bran did not understand what he saw. He reached the window and saw the Queen Cersei and the Kingslayer. They were engaged in intimate relations"

There were gasps of shock again. I guessed that, if the honourable Lord Stark was saying it, it was as good as the truth.

"Bran did not understand what he saw" Ned then said, no doubt believing it although I was sure Bran had an idea "but what he heard clearly was the Queen order her Brother to push him out of the window, to an almost certain doom"

Ned glared at the Queen, she was still as impassive as ever, yet Jaime looked worried.

"Do you have anything more to add, Lord Stark?" Robert asked.

It was strange to see, really. You would think the King would fight for his Queen's innocence, but he was just letting this entire trial go off without a hitch. Maybe he was eager to get rid of her.

"I only hope that my son will receive the justice he so deserves." Ned said.

Many of the assembled crowd nodded, with the exception of the Lannister men. It made sense; if they did not agreed, it would be considered a betrayal to the House they served.

"Then, you may resume your former seat." Robert said, and the Lord of the North complied.

A moment of silence passed through everyone, before the King turned back to his wife and brother by law, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"I'll ask you again." Robert said. "Do you deny your actions against Brandon Stark, or do you wish to confess your crimes?".

The queen stood up.

"I see that we will receive no justice here" Queen Cersei stated "I demand a trial by combat".

Then there was an uproar, people chattering, whispering, shouting and making exclamations of outrage and disbelief.

"I am the Queen!" She continued. "It is my right to demand it!".

This annoyed me because I'd gone to all the trouble of examining a crime scene, gathering evidence, as well as ensuring there was witness, and now she might go free just because someone she knew was good at killing people.

"This is true. You have the right." the monarch conceded, while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Very well then. I, King Robert, First of His Name, sentence you, Queen Cersei of Houses Baratheon and Lannister, to trial by combat".

He then turned to Ser Jaime.

"And you, Kingslayer?" Robert question "Do you wish for a trial by combat as well?"

It was no surprise that he did.

"Queen Cersei, you shall have a trial by combat." the King was now saying "Who do you wish to choose, as champion?"

Cersei smiled as she looked right at me.

"Ser Sandor Clegane" she announced,

There was uproar at her statement. Apparently the Hound was not a well liked man. At least not here in the North.

"And you, Lord Stark? Who is your chosen champion?" Robert asked, before quirking his lip in amusement. "Or, do you wish to do battle, yourself?"

This was dumb question.

"The man who passes the sentence must swing the sword." I heard him say.

Upon hearing this the King nodded.

"But you can not face two men" he then said "that would be against the laws of the realm. Who will face the Kingslayer?".

It was time to cheat with some magic, and I had just the cards for that. I just needed a volunteer.

"I will" Ser Rodrick told the crowd.

No else was eager to throw their hat into the ring, so that detail was soon sorted out.

"Very well, then." King Robert said, standing up and ordering the servants around. "We will adjourn and move out to the courtyard".

As the people around us exploded into motion, the Kingslayer and I shared glances just for a moment and I knew that he would kill me should he get the chance.

"I may die today" Ned whispered to me.

I smiled at the Lord.

"It will be fine" I assured "If its honourable you can have my magic armour".

He didn't question that, and why would he, he'd seen me heal a crippled boy with piece of colourful paper. Plus Magebane Armour, which had cost me two days worth of collected Mana gave +2/+4 when equipped and humans knights never went past 4/4 without magical equipment and a basic human warrior was a 1/1, not that Ned would be a 1/1, he had to be at the same level as a knight. With the armour on, in a one on one fight he'd win for sure.

(Line Break)

 **Courtyard. Winterfell.**

A few minutes more passed as seats were adjusted to ensure that everyone got a seat to watch the trial by combat. Thankfully Ned changed into my armour, as apparently that was honourable, go figure, and just to be sure I casted Zealous Strike using the one of the two white mana filled mox diamounds that I filled while visiting some of the meadows around Winterfell.

"In the sight of Gods and Men, we gather to ascertain the guilt or innocence of my Queen, Cersei of Houses Baratheon and Lannister, and Jamie Lannister of the Kingsguard" King Robert said. "The accused have chosen a trial by combat, so that the gods themselves can decide their guilt or innocence"

All the men about to fight kneeled before the king.

"The rules are simple. You fight until one of you yields, or is killed." King Robert said simply. "Any questions?"

It seemed simple enough.

"None, Your Grace." Jamie said, unsheathing his blade.

Sir Rodrick did the same and I cast the spell on him, as I had on Lord Stark, again nothing seemed to happen, but a Mox Diamond emptied.

"Begin!" ordered the monarch.

A second later it was over. The kingslayer had been slain. First strike had come into effect and with the 2/2 modifier Ser Jaime's skill hadn't meant a damn thing.

Magic is so broken.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Winterfell.**

"Queen Cersei of Houses Baratheon and Lannister" King Robert said, speaking with a slight weariness when he used the name Lannister "In the sights of gods and men, you have been found guilty of attempting to murder Brandon Stark, son of the Warden of the North, Eddard Stark, by pushing him out of a window of an abandoned tower".

Ned had won as I had cast Zealous Strike on him, just as I had on the master at arms, which had gone unnoticed. They might have won anyway as they were both great warriors, not that it mattered the Hound had been put down, and Kingslayer had been slain. What a great chess master I was turning to. I was using other people to see my goals done. I was playing the Game of Thrones and I was liking it.

"I, King Robert, the First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, will now declare your sentencing." He said heavily. "Your crime is severe violating guest right by attempting to murder our host's son. But I am not without mercy given that you have lost your brother this day you shall not lose your life."

Before anyone could speak the King passed sentence.

"Cersei you are to return to your home in Casterly Rock, in disgrace. Furthermore, I strip your title as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. You are no longer the Queen, nor my wife"

I had figured life in prison, or death, this might actually be worse than killing her, losing Jamie had broken her and now she'd lost her title.

The prince did not agree with any of this. He had a massive hissy fit, one that could not be ignored by his father. No doubt that would be his normal parenting style.

"She has disgraced herself" the king said to his heir "and by extension House Lannister and my own House, as well. If she were not my wife, I would have executed here this very day. This is a mercy."

With that it was done. The Kingslayer was dead, and that felt so good, murdering incestuous fucker that he was. Also the Hound was dead too, which saved a lot of lives. Their deaths had been so sudden that I was sure that everyone was thinking that the gods must have been involved.

"Gothic I would like to thank you for your aid. You have done me, and all of House Stark a great service by discovering the truth of this matter" Lord Stark said to me as the scene was cleared.

Indeed I had, but killing people even by proxy wasn't a worthy thing, I didn't want to offer me a reward over this. It was bad enough that I was enjoying playing with people's lives. That wasn't like me.

"It's no problem. Bran is a good boy; he deserved better" I said "It's done, now. Justice has been seen to".

Ned was happy, but he was too much of a good man to show glee over another family's fall. Not that the Lannisters had fallen, they'd been weakened, but as the song went: A Lion Still Has Claws

"Still you should not go unrewarded" Lord Stark was now saying "I believe you mentioned buying some land".

I nodded.

"Since I travel I don't want anyone living on land I own as I won't be around to help any smallfolk who need protection" I said "and I would like some variety. Hills, woods, swamps, anything you don't mind giving up".

Light is not good in MTG, it's arguably the second most 'EVIL!' power, or at the very least, the one second most dedicated to killing things/people. Worse over using it had made me act all heroic. I didn't want to end up a good guy, I need variety.

Red burns and destroys, but that's more a primal force cranked to 11. It's destructive, but in the end, it's just energy, and there is the whole 'things must be destroyed for things to form anew' issue. Not exactly 'EVIL!' but still something to keep at arms length, or at least handle with extreme care.

Green is life plain and simple. It's huge monsters, it's immense forests, it's plagues, it's you. All that lives is Green to some minor extent or another, yet I was not going to be nature's champion, as such using too much Green would be bad.

Blue is harder to define, but if anything I'd label it chaos itself. Confusion, distortion, sudden, unnatural changes in the order of things, and distortions of the mind and senses. That could be dangerous in great amounts.

Black is Death. It's the end, killer of all things, it destroys, saps, and erodes. While again it can be argued that this is necessary, that doesn't change the fact that by it's very nature it's hostile to all things living. This is included myself.

None of these things is healthy in abundance. Nor arguably is it healthy to lack any of them. My own behaviour was proof of this. Although the places I'd visited had some effect on me as well, of that I was sure.

"I'm not sure if the King will want me to serve as his Hand after what happen" Ned was now saying "if he does I would like you to come with me. Jon too if he remains in your service. I can arrange lands and a title for you. If you wish".

That would be nice, but still it felt wrong to be reward for winning a fight I could not have lost due to cheating with magic. On the other hand it wasn't as if I was going around slaughtering the innocent.

"I hear the whole of King's Landing is a cesspool of corruption" I said to Lord Stark "What little of it I have seen means I really don't want to enter that city again, but if Jon wishes to go I will too. Although I can't promise I'll stay its a bad place".

Damn stupid friendship making me do things for other people.

"The Northern Houses put a lot of stock on honour and strength of character." I continued, still trying to discourage the Starks from going "The rest of this continent doesn't seem to care all that much, as long as the Houses in question have money. Especially in King's Landing. Its a place of vile corruption and endless politicking among the nobles which leads to the deaths of the low born and the high born alike. I don't think you'd know a moments safety in that place".

Ned frowned.

"I had guessed at what could be waiting for me at King's Landing." he said. "it seems there will be much work to be done should I still be asked to serve as Hand"

So, he was still planning on going, even after what just happened. I shook my head; it made no sense.

"I don't envy you the task." I said, feeling a little bold. "If you don't mind, Lord Ned, I'd like to retire to my chambers for some much needed rest".

(Line Break)

 **Great Hall. Winterfell.**

"Top of the morning to ya." I said by way of greeting.

Jon gave me a queer look for a moment but he soon shook his head and smiled due to my strangeness. I was now feeling much better, even if I hadn't slept that well. I'd had to barricade myself in bedroom before I even close my eyes. I would have summoned a creature to watch over me if I'd had the mana to spare. I'd even slept in my armour and had kept my sword close.

"You're up early" I commented.

He looked tired.

"I couldn't sleep." Jon admitted. "I stayed up all night guarding Bran."

This made me wince in sympathy.

"A whole night with the Lady Catelyn?" I asked.

She not left the boy's side for days.

"Oh old gods, no" Jon said quickly. "Lord Stark convinced her to retire with him."

Thank the gods for small mercies.

"How is Bran doing?" I asked.

This was a more pleasant topic to discuss.

"He's fine." Jon said, smiling. "Better than fine. He took a few steps to today. It was nothing like I'd ever seen." Jon admitted. "I saw his wounds. I had thought..."

He trailed off, and I could tell that the not knowing concerned him.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked lightly.

Jon gave me a look, and nodded warily.

"I healed him." I stated simply. "I told Lord and Lady Stark to keep it a secret from everyone, to pretend that a miracle had taken place"

A moment passed.

"You?" Jon said incredulously. "How?"

That was a hard question.

"The truth is that I have learned how to use magic" I said.

He didn't accept that.

"Magic?" Jon said incredulously. "Impossible. Magic is gone from this world".

I couldn't resit.

"You know nothing Jon Snow" I stated.

I then took a coin and made it move across the table, the faint silver glow around it was as much proof as the movement itself.

"I'm what's called a Planeswalker" I told Jon "We're magic users who can travel to different worlds whenever we wish, and we have great powers".

He needed time to process, but not as much as I would have thought.

"And you used this magic to heal Bran?" Jon asked.

I nodded.

"Maester Luwin, and the Lord and Lady Stark know. No one else" I said "Well; no one else but you, now."

Jon looked a little perturbed, as well as confused, by the revelation as he tried to wrap his head around it. I didn't blame him.

"When Old Nan spoke of magic in her tales were always horrifying." Jon said, looking at me strangely. "The users of such arts, are craven men who wish for power no matter what it cost"

Well she wasn't totally wrong.

"There are man like that" I said "who just want power at any expense, but that's true of everyone. How many greedy southern lords will trample the small folk for more coin or land?".

Jon considered this.

"Many" he finally said.

I was glad that he understood that much at least.

"Magic just gives greedy men more ways to obtain power" I said "Like gold it can led to corruption, but that does mean the gold is evil. You could use your skill with the sword to defend people or to kill the innocent. My power is like that".

I could tell he was going to need time to accept that so I decided to go the godswood. Then I'd seek Jon out again, and see if still he wanted to go to the Wall with me or not.

(Line Break)

 **The North. Winterfell.**

The Godswood had become familiar to me over the past few weeks; I easily made my way to the heart tree at its centre. I remembered the first time I laid eyes on it. A beautiful tree with a thrum of power all its own. Upon sensing that the power was growing I wondered if the Greenseer might be manipulating me.

Once again I placed my hand on the tree's face that carved into it, thousands of years ago.

"Hello?" I called out softly

I was not really expecting an answer.

 _Hello._ The tree answered back in an old, raspy voice.

Three eyed raven?" I asked.

 _Yes._ The tree guy answered _And I know you Walker of Worlds. I have seen much, one of your kind has been here before, so very long ago. He battled the Darkness then, perhaps you will be the one to combat the coming Darkness._

I scowled.

"If you think I'm just some lapdog here to do your bidding and fight your enemies" I said "Then think again. Now tell me are you the one who brought me here?"

I'd landed here and not anywhere else in the multiverse, that might not be random chance. It had just struck me that it might be part of a plan to have brought me here.

 _I am not._ Raven guy said

"Oddly convenient, how someone powerful enough to fight an army of the dead and these White Walkers of yours just happens to turn up" I countered "and with plenty of time to prepare".

Arriving just before the start of season one, that was good timing.

 _True._ Three Eyed Raven admitted. _But if i had the power to bring you here why would not use that vast power against the Others?_

That was a good point. The power to reach out into the Void and bring me here, while I moving through it uncontrolled, was beyond that any mere wizard. If he could bring me here then he could bring anyone, a proper hero for example, or he could just send the Night King into the Void and be done with all this.

 _Magic has almost dwindled into nothingness, but with your arrival, it is stronger now than it has been for the past few centuries, back when the last dragons still lived. I feel my own power rising by the day._

I was sure my power was growing as well.

 _No doubt, many of the practitioners to the east are strengthened, most notably the Red Priests of R'hllor. Here in the far north, The Others are amassing their forces to attack._

Before I could think on that more was said.

 _Let me show you._

Suddenly I found myself standing in the snow. As far as the eye could see, there was a blizzard. Then the wind stopped and yet it became colder as thousands upon thousands of dead bodies, animated by the magic of White Walkers rushed past me.

Thankfully they didn't see me, as this good as they could have torn me apart in seconds. Assuming that this wasn't all a vision of the past.

Then I saw a White Walker, he stopped for a moment, letting me get a good look at his features. It was expressionless. Cold. Alien. Not a shred of humanity.

He looked at me for a few moments with unblinking intensity, before resuming his walk, it was as if I didn't matter to the creature. Soon he mounted an undead steed, and just moved away.

 _That is one of your enemies._ I heard Raven's voice in my head _now see the other._

What I saw next was far worse than a some zombies and a Necromancer. It was a shadow and fire demon, like the one Gandalf died fighting in those dwarf mines, only much larger and it flew over a city. Even the dragons I'd seen in earlier visions would no match for that thing.

 _The god of fire and shadows_ the greenseer told me _He will come and burn us all if he can._

"Well shit" I muttered.

Everyone worried about the White Walkers when it was the Lord of Light they should be freaking out over.

"Show me more" I requested.

Which he did and it was a might overwhelming.

(Line Break)

"Gothic!"

I heard Jon's voice.

"Gothic!" he shouted.

"What?" I said, while taking a moment to reorient myself.

I was lying on the ground next to scary face tree, and I had a head full of images.

"They've begun the march to King's Landing. I told father we were going to The Wall today" Jon told me "I don't think Lady Stark will let me stay in Winterfell so I'm stuck with you visiting the Wall or going to the Wall, and staying there".

I so loathed that woman.

"Jon." I said "Let's go the Wall. We have stuff to talk about".

I had to let him go to the Wall, to let him decided his own fate, and I had to at least aid the Night's Watch. Also I needed to deal with the Lord of Light, or at least his mortal followers. Then deal with the Others, it was a big list.

Thankfully I had time, years in fact, and a head full of knowledge. Plus the ability to run really far away should things blow up in my face. Which was nice.


	14. GOT 4

**Reviews**

 **Takao-kun**

That's Lady B*** now, Robert stripped her title of Queen B****, and she's still alive so something else bad can happen to her.

As for the weapon issue, you raise a good point, but the reason for the Planeswalker learning the sword was to give the character a chance to make friends with Jon Snow by bonding over a shared activity. I will keep in mind your point about the mace and spears, that can be useful later.

 **willboon**

Glad you liked them.

 **Nakedfury**

How do you know that entry is forbidden? Do you have a cannon source for this? In the scenes in the show there were lots of people just wandering around in the courtyard. Security might not be that important in peace time. Naturally I assumed that parts of Winterfell would be bared to visitors, like the private quarters and such, and that guards would prevent entry into those parts. I've visited the homes of nobles in my country, and can you tour parts of them without trouble.

Plus he was alone, unarmed and the guard went and told Ned Stark about the visitor right away, he wasn't just allowed to wander around. Also in the show a Wildling prisoner, I forget her name, was permitted to go into the godswood while Bran was praying so there seems to be some pubic access. Last of all its a place of worship for those who follow the ways of the old gods, denying access to it would be like telling people they couldn't go into a church.

You raise good points, but the those chapters were already longer than I planned. I plan to show what certain people think about what happened later on. I have lots and lots of Game of Throne chapters ahead. That was just the time up to and including episode 1 of season 1.

Oh I didn't write the fight because Game of Thrones is rather bloody and I didn't put any warnings up for this story or give it a M rating.

 **code R.R**

Those are just the ones to has to worry about for now.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Game of Thrones 4**

 **The North. Winterfell.**

"I'm sorry Jon but I forbid it." Lord Stark said.

Much had been denied Jon Snow throughout his life, such as any inheritance, also a proper name, and as much as it bothered Ned to deny the boy yet again, he couldn't allow this either. Jon could not join the Black Brothers, not yet.

"It's not fair!" Jon shouted, his mood swinging to a rarely shown anger he nearly always kept hidden.

 _So much like my sister_ , Ned thought.

Winterfell had been silent since the two trails by combat. The silence was not comforting as Ned did not want this conversation to be heard by the wrong ears. Even in his own study they had to be cautious, so Eddard had given orders to the household that he and Jon were not to be bothered. Not even Maester Luwin, who had helped come up with this plan, was allowed in here.

He also didn't want an audience for what he was about to ask Jon to do, as it shamed him a bit. It was an unfair thing to request of Jon when the young man only ever strived to be honourable.

"Father, if I can't go south with you, and Lady Stark won't have me in Winterfell, where else can I go but the Wall?" the younger man asked "Uncle Benjen says I would do well there".

Lord Stark waited for Jon to finish speaking before saying anything else.

"He also says that you are too young to know what such a choice means" the Warden of the North said "And I'm inclined to agree with him."

Ned reached for his son, but the younger man shrugged away from his touch.

"Do you wish me to stay at Winterfell?" Jon asked, almost hopeful.

Sadly this was not the case.

"No." Eddard replied. "I'm sorry, but no. You are my blood Jon, not Catelyn's. I cannot ask her to care for you".

The lad looked ready to say something about that, but he was cut off when Ned spoke again.

"You are still going to the Wall though. You will leave with your Uncle Benjen, and Jon I still forbid you to take the black. Instead, you will come south with the Baron".

Jon's face twisted in both shock and confusion.

"He has a mind to travel to the Wall before going south to hopefully to aid me in King's Landing. As you already planned you will be that escort Jon. See him safely to the Wall, and then south to King's Landing. Once there you will seek me in the capital" Lord Stark instructed.

The young man was understandably confused. This was partly the plan he had already agreed to, escorting his friend safely the Wall, and perhaps back to Winterfell. Now there was this talk of going south.

"But you said I wouldn't be welcome at Court" Jon reminded his father.

This was true.

"You won't be at Court" Lord Stark said "You'll be a squire for the Baron. He is a noble, I have given him lands, and so he may take a squire if he wishes. You will ask on my behalf, I'm sure he will say yes".

Eddard hadn't discussed this with Gothic, there hadn't been time. However he had sworn the mage into his service as a lord of the North, which Lord Stark had been willing do as he felt House Stark would need more allies in the future. Plus saving Bran had been a major factor.

"Squire" muttered the young man.

Jon's face lit up for a moment, his head probably filling up with boyhood tales of gallantry and adventure, like those of Duncan the Tall. Tales that Ned knew Sansa was often entertained by. Although for different reasons than her brothers.

"Would he want me?" Jon asked "I'm too old to squire and… a bastard besides".

Before he'd even finished saying it Snow felt foolish. He knew his friend didn't care for such things.

"Some of the finest knights who have ever lived started off with names like Rivers and Sands" Lord Eddard said "And if Baron... that is Lord Gothic does by some chance say no. Well if Robert is going to foist ruling the realm upon me, I will use it to do some good for my blood. I believe it will be easily within my power to find a good knight who can take you as a squire"

The idea had come from Maester Luwin's counselling the night before.

"You think I could be a knight?" Snow asked.

Jon's face was still filled with doubt but a cautious hope shone through as well.

"I do." Ned reached for the boy again, this time being permitted to grasp his shoulders "I think you could make a fine knight Jon. I'll help you all I can, but this is a chance for you to make a life for yourself. Knights can even take their own names you know".

This made the younger man smile, just a little.

"I wouldn't have to be a Snow? I could serve a lord as a sworn sword" he said "But who would I serve? Where would I…"

Again Lord Stark cut him off.

"Those are questions for me to answer when you arrive in King's Landing" Ned said as he patted the younger man on the shoulders. "I want this to be a new start for you Jon. I want you to have a life where you're not held accountable for my… sins."

Alas there would be some dishonour.

"Jon, there's more" the Warden of the North is now saying "I must command something of you, and you must tell me now if you can do it. If you cannot, I must take other actions".

Ned knew that the Lannisters would not forgive the Starks for what had happened here at Winterfell, and he also knew that war might soon be on the horizon. If he was going to win that war, as quickly and bloodlessly as possible, he would need to forge alliances and sometime soon perhaps call his banners. Bringing the other lords of the north to his side. Also he would need the Baron, of that he was sure.

"Anything father, you know that" his son said.

Jon spoke so earnestly that it made Ned feel all the worse about what he had to ask.

"Gothic. Ride with him. Protect him even when in our lands and as you can go south. Show him all the courtesy and respect he is due" Ned instructed.

Jon had no issue with his, it was he had planned to do before going on to join the Watch. He wondered what all the fuss was about.

"And watch him." Ned said quietly "Listen to what he says. Know to whom he speaks. Find out who watches him as you watch him".

The meaning of what Ned was asking him slowly dawned on the youth.

"I am to spy on him?" Jon asked in shock.

When his father nodded, Jon's face darkened in anger again.

"I'm sorry Jon. It must be you." Ned continued. "For reasons I can't say, we must be wary now. Our family may have enemies in the realm. We may even go to war. Gothic has powerful magic, he could be a great ally for House Stark, but he's also a man and therefore vulnerable, he can killed, or drawn to new alliances".

Jon understood this. Although he couldn't see his friend serving a Southern House, at least not by choice.

"The Lannisters" Snow then said.

His father nodded.

"Can you do this Jon?" Lord Stark asked "If you cannot, tell me so now. I will not think less of you

The young man thought about things.

"While doing this will help keep my brothers and sisters safe?" Jon asked.

Ned nodded.

"I would not ask if it wasn't so" he assured the younger man.

Jon straightened then, like a guardsman ready for inspection.

"Then I will do as you as you command of me Lord Stark." he promised.

Ned fought the urge to embrace him then. He was asking the boy to act a man, he could not rightfully ask so much and still treat him like the boy he'd watched grow up in Winterfell. Instead, Ned offered his hand, thinking of the little babe he had brought to his home so many years ago and shaking the hand of the man who was about to leave it.

"I knew I could depend on you." Ned clasped another hand over top of the boy's, holding it firmly. "You must be careful. Trust only those who deserve it. Stay true to yourself, and remember all you've learned here. Most of all, keep safe. I can rest easy so long as you promise to do that".

The younger man nodded.

"Promise me, Jon" requested Ned Stark "Say it".

He did just that.

"I promise" he said.

Ned smiled.

"Good" he then said "Now go find your friend. We'll be leaving shortly".

Jon nodded his head and left the room, knowing that his friend was most likley in the godswood as he seemed to like it there.

(Line Break)

 **Near The Wall. The North.**

The trip to the Wall was unpleasant to say the least. As was the company I had done my best to avoid them so far. Night was falling though, and the party of recruits stopped to set up camp for the night. Some of the recruits who had been tied up to prevent them escaping were sat down and untied as Benjen Stark, the First Ranger and Lord Stark's brother, barked out instructions.

"What could they have done?" Jon asked, more to himself than anyone else.

The Imp wasn't here, unsurprising given that his brother was dead and his sister was in disgrace. I wondered what the poor sod would do, he'd not want to be one to report the bad news to his father.

"Rapers I bet" I said "They were given a choice: castration or The Wall. I think I'd choose the knife".

Mostly because I was almost sure I could use a green mana spell to grow my dick back. Not that it mattered as I'd planeswalk away before anyone could cut anything of mine off. I might have already left anyway if not for the friendship I shared with Jon. Stupid friendship magic of those ponies had infected me I was sure of that.

"That's the lovely thing about the Watch, you lose your old family and you get a whole new one" I went on to say.

Jon shuddered a little despite being wrapped up in his wolf's fur cloak.

"You tried to warn me" he then said "and I didn't listen. If you hadn't agreed to squire me I'd be stuck at The Wall with them".

I nodded my head.

"When you find out what King's Landing is like you might want to reconsider joining the Watch" I told Jon "But still it worth seeing, the Wall I mean. I imagine the view from the top must be nothing short of breath taking".

Despite my fear of heights, which had grown stronger since I'd done my falling star impression, I was still going to the top of the Wall. I just wasn't going go too near the edge.

"So did you father ask you to keep an eye on me?" I question Jon "Spy on me I mean".

He didn't answer me, he didn't need to. It made sense and my friend had been acting awkwardly around me like he'd wanted to tell me something, and I could tell something had been bothering him since we'd left Winterfell. Something to do with me.

"I take no offence" I told Jon "Its actually a bit flattering, I don't think Lord Stark would go to all this trouble unless he worried about me".

No doubt he wanted to keep me as an ally, and that would involve keeping me close to a Stark as much as possible.

"Well I wouldn't be too flattered, he only sent a bastard to keep watch" Jon grumbled.

He was very good at being Mr Grumpy Pants.

"Does me knowing change your plans?" I asked with curiosity "Do you still intend to go south with me?"

He nodded.

"My father expects me to do so. I am meant to be a squire, not a sworn brother. And I can't stay Winterfell so long as he's in the south" Jon told me "Lady Stark would not have me there without him".

Bitch that she was.

"Well I'll be happy to share the road with you" I told Jon "We'll stay at some nice inns, take our time going south. Maybe have some adventures, or at least see some sights".

Jon seemed surprised.

"You still want me to ride with you?" he asked.

I still liked the Starks more than anyone else. If it came to war, and I was sure it would. I'd support Robb in his conquests.

"Well I've enjoyed your company" I said to the bastard of Winterfell "You're a good man Jon Snow, a really, really terrible spy, but a good man".

This world needed more like him. Alas good men were lacking in these parts.

(Line Break)

 **The Kings Road. Seven Kingdoms.**

"Gods, now this is country!" Robert declared as he stepped out from behind a tree where he had been urinating.

The sun was warm, and a pleasant breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. They had stopped alongside the road for a noon meal. Fresh fruit, soft white bread and meat that had been roasted an open fire were spread out, before the king and his hand.

"I've half a mind to just take my horse and keep going, leave them all behind" Robert said as he sat down and grabbed a mug of beer.

The monarch didn't doubt that there was going to be a lot of fallout from his sentencing, yet what choice had there been. The trail by combat should have settled the matter. Alas the king knew it would not be. His former wife's father would have things to say, and he'd take action too. Looking back it was a minor miracle that a battle had not taken place between the Lannister men and the Stark soldiers.

"I've half a mind to join you" Ned replied.

As tempting as that was he had his duty, and a family to care for.

"What do you say Ned, just you and me on the Kingsroad, swords at our sides, couple of tavern wenches to warm our beds tonight" Robert said with a grin "Its not we ever had the chance to do things like that when we were young".

King Robert knew it was simply remain a dream.

"Oh, I recall a few chances" Ned said with a grin.

Robert broke into a hearty laugh.

"There was that one, that common girl of yours" he said to Ned "Becka, with the big tits you could bury your face in!".

Lord Stark laughed this time.

"Bessie" Ned corrected him "She was one of yours"

The king recalled that this was true.

"Bessie! Thank the gods for Bessie and her tits!" Robert said as he laughed some more. "Who was that common girl of yours? Alena? Merril? Your bastard's mother"

The mood became more somber.

"Wylla" Ned said quietly.

The king drank some ale before speaking further.

"She must have been a rare wench to make Lord Eddard Stark forget his honour" Robert teased "You never told me what she looked like".

"Nor will I" replied Ned coldly.

Robert dislike how his friend thought so badly of himself.

"We were at war, none of us knew if we were ever going to go home again. You're too hard on yourself, you always have been" Robert said.

From a pocket, he took out a small piece of parchment paper.

"There was a rider in the night" Robert explained, as he handed it to Ned.

Lord Stark read over the letter, grimaced and threw it down upon the table.

"Daenerys Targaryen has wed some Dothraki horse-lord, what of it? Shall we send her a wedding gift?" Ned said.

The king was not pleased, he thought this was news worthy of worrying about.

"A dagger in the night perhaps, and a bald man to wield it." Robert replied harshly.

Eddard wanted to change the subject, but this had to be discussed.

"Well this girl is across the Narrow Sea, and she's little more than a child Robert" Ned said "Leave her be".

Robert's eyes were hard and cold.

"Soon enough that child will spread her legs for this 'Khal Drogo' and start breeding, and what then? There's still plenty in the Kingdoms who still say I'm a usurper, and if a Targaryen boy crosses the Narrow Sea with a hundred thousand screaming Dothraki behind him? There's scum who will join him".

There's was a moment of silence, and it was plain that Eddard was carefully considering his next words.

"Your Grace, sending assassins after the Khal's wife will only aggravate the Dothraki, and even though they cannot cross the Narrow Sea, I do not think sending her a dagger to be planted in her breast is the most prudent choice of action" Lord Stark advised, his voice even, conciliatory.

The king drank some more.

"There's a war coming, I don't know when or who, but I can feel it coming" he said, staring hard at Ned.

Lord Stark had a few ideas on how that war would start, he feared that he had already started it.

(Line Break)

 **The Wall. The North.**

I'd learned from Maester Luwin that The Wall was a colossal fortification which stretched for 100 leagues (300 miles) along the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, and that its purpose was to defending the realm from the wildlings who lived beyond. The Wall was over 700 feet tall and was made of solid ice with a base of stone.

It was supposedly constructed using both magic and mundane means some eight millennium ago, possible making use of giants for labour, in the aftermath of the Long Night to defend the realm against the White Walkers, magical creatures that dwelled in the far north, though they are now considered myths by most.

Now that I was actually here I couldn't imagine that they'd built the Wall to keep out mere men. The Great Wall of China didn't look as imposing at this wall. Also it was White Mana power house, that had to follow a Ley Line or something like because I could fell how magical it was. Which made some sense as it was meant to keep out creatures with power over ice, so it couldn't just be a wall of ice.

The Wall was defended by the Sworn Brothers of the Night's Watch. Once an honourable institution, the Watch had fallen on hard times. It had become grievously undermanned, the Night's Watch now numbering less than a thousand men, an all-time low. While once there had been great glory and honour in joining the Night's Watch, in the present day it was little more than a glorified penal colony, and way for large noble families to get rid of troublesome heirs.

The current headquarters of the Watch was Castle Black, which was at the northern end of the Kingsroad. There was also Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, located at the eastern end of the Wall, which served as port and resupply post for the Night's Watch. The Shadow Tower at the western end of the Wall was the only other manned castle. Among the abandoned castles along the length of the Wall was the Nightfort, the first fortress built on the Wall and the original headquarters of the Night's Watch.

According to legend there had once been a Night's King, not to be confused with the Night King the leader of the Walkers, who had ruled from the Nightfort after declaring himself king, and had performed dark rituals. The Wildlings and the Starks had teamed up to talk him down.

He'd also supposedly taken a female White Walker as a bride, however in my visions I'd never seen any proof of this, all the Walkers were men. If it had ever happened I didn't think any White Walkers had been involved. More likely the Night's King had fallen under the sway of some magic user, like Stannis had in the books and show, and had simply gone mad before being put down. People followed rulers here even if they were totally crazy.

The region south of the Wall is called the Gift, bestowed to the Night's Watch by House Stark thousands of years ago to supply the Night's Watch with food and other provisions.

From what I remember reading, in the past, the Night's Watch would send men out every morning to the north side of the Wall to cut down any trees growing within one mile of the structure, so the wildlings couldn't use any natural cover to approach the base of the Wall undetected. With the ranks of the Night's Watch drastically diminishing over the years, many of the areas between the three forts that are still manned had tall trees almost growing right up to the base of the Wall.

The only thing I'd seen in this that was more impressive than The Wall was the view while standing on top of The Wall, even without going near the edge, was an experience to treasure.

"So what do you think of the view?" I asked Jon.

He turned away from whatever it was he'd been looking at and faced me.

"I've already been up here twice already" he told me "The first time with my Uncle Benjen, he wanted to be with me when I saw it. I think its the best part of this place".

Mr Snow wasn't too impressed by the men of the Night's Watch. Ser Alistar Thorne, if that was his name, was a total git. Most of the new recruits were crooks, and the only decent fellows around were old men. There was a recruiter who wasn't too bad at least. And Jon's Uncle was okay, the rest could go hang for all I cared.

"Well I for one don't want to stick around for much longer" I said to the young man "It's freezing here. Plus there's a lot to see between here and King's Landing, and if the Wall does appeal to you well its not going anywhere. You can come back when you're at knight and show that bugger in the training yard what a real knight can do".

That prospect amused Jon.

"Aye I suppose we can't leave my father alone in that hive of scum and villainy for too long" he said.

That was how I had described King's Landing to him.

"Well at least you'll get too see more of my magic soon" I promised the bastard of Winterfell.

Jon gave me a quizzical look.

"My power comes from the land around us and land I own" I explained "I'll be able to draw on more mana now and do greater things".

Jon bit his lip.

"Can anyone learn to do magic?" he asked.

I knew what he wanted me to say, sadly I couldn't tell him what he desired to hear.

"No" I told him "But if want I can make you some magic weapons and armour for you. Like how your father has the greatsword Ice".

Now that got the man's interest. Yet magic swords were the least of what I could offer him.

"We'll stop at Winterfell on the way back down south as planned" I then said "We should check on Bran at least, and we can stay at an inn so we don't bother Lady Stark".

Jon had mixed feelings on returning home I could tell. On the one had he wanted to see his siblings again, on the other he didn't want to see his stepmother. Not that I would blame him.


	15. GOT 5

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 5**

 **The North. Wintertown.**

"I've heard that Dornish cunts are the hottest in all of Westeros. They're so warm that in King's Landing men have to pay double for a Dornish whores, they pay once for the whore and they pay again to see a maester for something to soothe the burns. What I wouldn't give for a fiery Dornishwoman underneath me every night" Theon Greyjoy stated as he finished off his second mug of ale.

This wasn't just some random piece of conversation, there was a reason for it and for why Theon, Jon, Robb and I were drinking in a tavern in Wintertown. My squire and I were staying at the inn because Lady Stark wouldn't have Jon Snow inside the castle. We were drinking because news had just arrived saying that Robb Stark was going to marry a Dornish noble. This was kind of bachelor party.

I'd been very surprised upon hearing this as it meant an alliance forged by marriage between House Stark and House Martell, who apparently a princess ready to marry. This all made sense as neither noble house were a fan of the Lannisters.

This was because during Robert's Rebellion, Princess Elia of House Martell was kept in King's Landing to ensure the continued allegiance of House Martell to the Targaryen's against the rebels. Princess Elia bore Prince Rhaegar two children but she and her kids were later killed by the Mountain, the Hounds older brother, during the Sack of King's Landing by Tywin Lannister's army. Elia's brothers Doran and Oberyn were outraged and, while peace was restored, the Martells withdrew from interacting with outsiders after the rebellion.

Given how quickly this had all been put into motion I could only assume that the offer of marriage had been sent by raven before the royal court had arrived. Which meant the Martells must have a least suspected that the Starks and the Lannisters were going to fight each other. Lord Stark must have sent his reply before leaving and I doubted that any confirmation could have come from so far south already. Not unless raven could fly from Sunspear to Winterfell in a matter of days.

This alliance, if successful, meant that should House Lannister go to war with the North, they could end up with thousands of mad Dornish spearmen and maybe even spearswomen coming up from the South. I would not like to be Tywin Lannister when that happened.

"Theon, please stop talking." Jon Snow pleaded of his father's ward

While we'd come here to Winter Town to celebrate Robb's betrothal, the only one who seemed to be in a celebrating mood was Theon.

"And she's a princess," the Greyjoy continued, totally ignoring Jon's request. "Of course, she's only a princess of Dorne, but still, any man would kill to have a princess for a wife".

I couldn't see the appeal as I imagined princesses around here to be like Sansa only even more useless. Then again Dornish women had a reputation for being... well crazy during both battle and while in bed. Which could be a good thing for Robb.

The young lord of Winterfell was not in the party mood, he was still nursing his first mug of ale while Theon was now on his third. Jon and I now working on mug number two.

"She should've been sent to King's Landing to play tea party with the Queen's daughter" Greyjoy was now saying, his words becoming harder to understand as he drank more "So either her father's has gone mad or the girl is so ugly that he's willing to ship her off to this frozen wasteland as a last resort".

The North wasn't that bad. There was plenty of green mana from the woods, white from the open fields, and lots of game to hunt, plenty of fish to catch. It didn't have a lot of farm land, or much in the way exportable goods, but the its lack of population meant that there had been plenty of land for me to buy from the Starks. There were even some swaps down by the Neck I hoped to able to buy some of that land so I would have access to black mana.

Although it could tricky as they were home to the crannogmen, a reclusive people who dwelt in the swamps in a place called the Neck. They were ruled by House Reed from Greywater Watch. Their current lord was Howland Reed, it was he who I would have to convince to sell me land. Hopefully we could stop at Greywater Watch and convince him. If not I'd request that Robb make the deal on behalf.

"Have a care about what you say, Greyjoy. This 'frozen wasteland' as you so eloquently put it has been your home for more than a decade." Robb stated with a frown as he pushed his half-finished mug away.

Theon was too happy to let that remark put him down.

"Come on, Robb buck up. It's one of the last nights of your freedom. Within weeks you'll be married, enjoy yourself." he urged as he chuckled and patted Robb's back.

Somehow I didn't think this was going to turn into a proper stag party.

"I'm not in the mood for celebrations tonight." Robb soberly replied.

Jon looked at his half-brother with pity.

"Robb, it'll be okay" he assured "Theon is just teasing, I'm sure that she'll be pretty".

The young lord sighed before turning to look at Jon

"It's not that. It's the whole idea of marriage. Will she like it here? Will she like me? I'm going to be a husband; soon I'll have a family. I'll have to take care of her and of any children we may have. And I'm Lord of Winterfell until father comes back. I don't think I'm ready for this" the young man admitted.

Theon then shouted loudly at a tavern wench to bring him another mug of ale. The tavern in Winter Town was starting to become rowdy as the night continued. Tavern maidens and the older wenches were serving drinks, a few were offering kisses to the better spending customers. Normally they'd show us more attention, but they wenches and maidens were a bit busy serving drinks to spend time with us.

There were even a couple of whores hanging about. Apparently they didn't just live at the brothel. They were being more direct in their attempts to get men to spend money.

"I know what to do" shouted Theon, a couple more decibels louder than necessary.

Alas I figured what he was going to try to do, and I had to face palm.

"Know what?" Jon enquired, sounding annoyed.

He just had to ask.

"I know what'll cheer you up, Robb," Theon made a wild gesture at the scantily clad women, who really should be more covered up given how cold it got around here at night "Whores! Whores make everything better; at least that's my philosophy. One night with one, two, or even three of these fine ladies and you'll feel better in no time".

Strippers were okay for a stag party, hiring whores was going a little too far.

"How do expect to be a good husband if you can't satisfy your wife?" Greyjoy asked Robb "Even if she is as ugly, she's still from Dorne. She'll be a little minx in the bedroom. You should get practice before the wedding night".

Robb shook his head, and stood up from the table.

"I'm for my bed, and alone. I've had enough of you tonight, Theon" the young lord said before turning to Jon and myself "I'll see you two in the morning".

Robb had messages for this father, nothing important that needed to arrive at King's Landing anytime soon, but still worth sending. Reports on bandits in the area, how much food was being stored for the Winter, stuff like that. He was entrusting Jon and I to get the news south.

Also Bran was still alive, no assassin had tried to kill him. Plus he was running about again. He wasn't climbing the walls anymore, but that was from choice. I was sure Ned would like to hear about this son's full recovery from Jon rather than by raven. If only so it wouldn't be learned by all the court.

"Think I'll visit the godswood before turning in" I told Snow.

Since the godswood was pretty much holy ground here in the north, like an outdoor church, it was open to the public. So as long as I didn't disturb anyone's prayers or damage the place I could visit when ever I wished.

(Line Break)

 **Godswood. Winterfell.**

I'd come here to see if there were new visions, but all I'd gotten was conformation of things I already knew. Still the visions were longer and clearer now.

The Others had an overall humanoid appearance. They are larger and stronger than we are, easily being able to send men flying with a single blow. There most notable feature is there glowing blue eyes.

The White Walkers possess powers related to ice and cold. You can tell they are approaching by blizzards. The only known weaknesses they have is dragon glass and Valyrian steel. Both of which will kill them.

The White Walkers are led by the Night's King. The Night's King was originally just a man. He was created by the children of the forest, when they stabbed him through the heart with a shard of dragon glass. Which suggested that dragon glass wouldn't kill him.

The Night's King alone had the ability to create more White Walkers, as well as raise living creatures back from the dead on mass. The other Walkers could only do it limited numbers.

This last part was very good news. If the other Others couldn't raise entire armies the dead, only command them, then if the Night King was slain they'd the White Walkers would have finite numbers. The wights might even become simple corpses again if they drew power from the Night King.

Yet I sensed there was more too the White Walkers than them being a weapon of war that had gotten out of control. I didn't know what that was, but I was sure that I would find out.

No sooner that I had stopped having the visions that confirmed this information than Jon joined me. He followed the old gods so the place was familiar to him, more so than it was to me.

"I'm glad I caught you, I had to get away from Theon. He's causing a lot of trouble in there with a couple of girls, if father were here he'd be told all about it from the tavern owner come morning." Jon said as he caught his breath.

This made me shrug my shoulders

"He's not our responsibility" I said "And just think about how sick he'll be tomorrow. He'll hardly be able to get through the day. Assuming he's even able to get out of bed".

Snow and I shared a quick laugh before quieting enough to enjoy the calmness in the air.

"It's a beautiful night" Jon offhandedly stated as he started up into the clear, dark sky.

Indeed it was.

"You told me that the stars are all like our sun, only so far away that we can barely see them" Jon said.

That was what I'd told him.

"And each could have a world around" Snow then said "Like this one".

Either he was trying to romance me with all this talk of stars or he wanted to go visit another world like I suggested we could.

"Well we could spend a few days in another world" I figured "Visit the city of Stormwind or maybe go see Skyrim".

I was somewhat tempted to go see if Twilight Sparkle was okay, but if we went Jon might take the form of a talking pony, that could be one heck of a case of culture shock. Granted the World of Warcraft or Elder Scrolls might also be somewhat overwhelming, but they were more or less medieval settings with humans living in them. There were other such places of course, but I knew those planes well enough to think it safe to make brief visits as long as we stayed near centres of civilisation.

"Not sure if we can take Ghost with us" I was now saying "But I can take you for a quick visit to somewhere were magic is accepted. It really depends on what you want to see".

We discussed this further on the way back to the inn, as we did I quickly made up my mind on where we were going.

(Line Break)

 **Stormwind. World of Warcraft.**

"Stormwind. The capital of the Alliance." I said as Jon and I slowly walked towards the massive open gates.

As soon as we entered between the two watchtowers on each side of the massive gate, we found ourselves on a stone bridge over a water filled chasm. On the other side of the bridge there was another large gate. The only cover on the bridge was a pair of large statues. I'd hate to have archers firing at me while crossing over this bridge.

"This place is amazing" Jon muttered.

Indeed it was.

"Yes. It's far more impressive than King's Landing." I said as we entered through the second gate into the city proper.

The city really was greater than King's Landing. More solidly built. More pleasing to look at. It was cleaner too. This was a proper fortress city, a safe haven, not some sprawling mess like King's Landing.

"So many people" Jon was now whispering "And not people"

The place was buzzing, there were people everywhere, trading, carrying goods. Talking and walking. Not just humans either, there were gnomes, dwarves, and those Night Elves. Plus the blue people who I couldn't remember anything about.

"They are people" I said to Jon "just not humans, but that doesn't make them our enemies"

I watched as Jon Snow glanced wearily at the large crowd of strangely dressed adventurers, not all of which were human, moved around us. The bastard of Winterfell had kept his hand on the handle of his sword ever since we had arrived through the gate. It was like he expected everyone we met to attack us. That might have something to do with the warlocks walking around with pet demons, thankfully Jon had not attacked anyone. He'd even looked rather happy for a few moments when a female Night Elf with large breasts had pretty much bounced past us.

"Why did we come here?" he asked.

Mostly because he'd wanted to visit another world, and I had promised that we would. My plan was to spend a few days here, as I needed time to recharge between Planeswalking. Then to Planeswalk back to Westeros, only far south of Winterfell. If we got ahead of the Court as it travelled then we could spend some time looking around.

"Stormwind is the capital of the human kingdom in this world" I said to Jon, who was still looking as if he was ready to fight everyone "I thought you'd be more comfortable in a human city. Also there are several skill and class trainers that might be useful if we can afford to pay them".

For once Jon stopped staring at people, and looked at me.

"Are we going to be here long enough to learn new skills?" he wondered

Normally it would take far long than we could afford to spend in one place but this was the World of Warcraft.

"They use some type of magic to instantly grant people skills" I told him "From what I can recall these so called professions fall into one of two categories: Gathering, those who gather or harvest items from resources throughout the world to supply ingredients and materials for crafting professions. The gathered materials can be sold in the auction house or traded between people"

Jon spent some time thinking.

"Is that how if I catch a fish some else can cook it for me?" he asked.

Sort of.

"Its more like how if you killed a bear while hunting and then had its fur made into a cloak by someone else" I explained "Those who have two Gathering professions are said to be the 'Supply and Demand'. They they supply the people with Crafting Professions with materials and get paid for it. Like how you can hunt and then sell the fur of the bear to someone".

So far Jon seemed to understanding me. Doubtless because that was how things worked in this world. His people had folks who hunted, fished, gathered herbs, and worked in mines. None of that was odd to him, learning how to do those things with magic was strange to him, but he'd seen me do magic and seemed to trust me when I spoke about things magical.

"People with crafting professions make items from ingredients and materials, herbs, bars of metal, meats, furs etc" I was now saying "Most of the items produced can be sold in the auction house here in Stormwind, or traded, and I guess shops may buy them".

Jon looked puzzled.

"What's an auction house?" he asked.

I soon answered his question.

"A place where people go to bid on items" I told him "The people offering money are called bidders the person who bids the most money then gets the item being auctioned".

Jon sighed. I could tell he was having trouble accepting all of this, and he was still fighting to urge not to draw his sword.

"What do you suggest?" he asked "What skills would benefit me?".

I considered the question for a several seconds, there were plenty of things I would love to learn how to do but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to use the skills in other worlds.

"We're going to need gold if we want to buy armour, weapons and training. Considering there are some nice spells available here, I'd like to see what we can learn before we leave" I said before trying to answer his question "Well the three basic gathering skills are gathering herbs, mining ore, and skinning".

Jon leaned against a wall, seeming a little more relaxed, although he was still looking around trying to find threats it seemed.

"I can skin an animal" he said "and I don't think we'll spending any time mining while at King's Landing, and won't they have different plants here than at home".

That was a good point to make, the herbs that grew here could be very different than the ones that grew in Westeros.

"I don't know about you, but picking up some magical abilities seems like a good idea" I said "Perhaps you'd do better with knowledge of Engineering or blacksmithing".

Jon looked confused again.

"I've never heard of Engineering" he said.

After thinking for a few moments I spoke on that subject.

"Its the building of devices" I explained "Think of someone who builds waggons or puts up a bridge. They're engineers".

I then realised something.

"Forget gathering and crafting" I then said "How about learning a new language, there's a trainer for that, if we both spoke a language no one else in Westeros could speak that would keep everything we say to each other a secret".

I had an auto-translate thing going, but I was sure that if I spoke in dwarfish not human would understand me, and if it didn't work the skill could simply be removed from my mind.

"My thinking is to go looking for spells I can use without having to mess about with my cards" I said mostly to myself "If they can upload spells into my mind that will save on a lot of training".

Fire spells would be very handy once I got around to dealing with the White Walkers.

"What happens if we can't use any of the magic once we leave?" Jon asked "Maybe it only works here"

Again that was a very good point to raise. Snow was smarter than he let on.

"Then we can't, but we won't know until we check" I said "It should be worth it to learn one spell, and then test it in your world. If it doesn't work then I didn't waste too much time and money".

Jon was still not relaxing, but at least he didn't seem so hostile now.

"Why are all there so few smallfolk here?" Snow asked me.

We were surrounded by adventurers, who were dressed rather well, and most of them carried weapons of some sort. Jon was used to only lords, knights and guards being armed, and everyone dressing in little more than rags.

"Here people are divided by their jobs they chose more than who their parents were. For example, warriors hit things with weapons and wear lots of armour as their more likely to be hit. They tend to do most of the fighting. Then you have priests, druids and shamans who can heal. They can do some other things but basically they're healers, they dress in robes mostly. Then you have hunters which are ranged weapon users, bows and crossbows, they're the people in leather".

They had some firearms here, but mentioning them would needlessly complicate matters.

"Still with me?" I asked.

Jon nodded.

"Yes" he said.

I carried on.

"Then you have rogues who are the stab people, they also sneak and open locked boxes, they also wear leather, but less over it" I was now saying "Mages and warlocks cast spells, they're the people with the staffs who wear robes".

Jon considered this.

"So they learn things by magic, and then dressed depending on what job the have chosen" Snow surmised "They don't learn to do the things their mothers and fathers did".

That was kinda the case. It was more complex, but it was best to keep things simple. To Jon it was normal that the son of a farmer became a farmer, that a fisherman's son become a fishermen.

"But if everyone is a healer or a warrior then who does the hunting?" Jon asked "Who smiths the weapons, and sows the clothing".

I had already told him that.

"Those are part of the skills I already mentioned" I reminded Job "Apparently everyone can learn First Aid, Fishing, Cooking, Riding, and so on as secondary skills, beyond that everyone can learn two trade skills such as mining, herbology, skinning, alchemy, leatherworking, blacksmithing, engineering, inscriptions, enchanting, jewelcrafting, and tailoring".

That had to really cut down on schooling.

"Only two?" Jon asked

I nodded.

"What are inscriptions?" he then wished to know.

I had to think on that as I wasn't totally sure. I hadn't played the game in many years.

"Inscriptions is a way to create tomes and magical books. From what I understand you're breaking down plants for the inks you need" I said. "and I have a feeling what we can learn is based off our own nature. You would do better with blacksmithing than I would as your stronger and know about swords, and armour. I'd do better with inscriptions and enchanting since I'm a mage".

Jon was now smiling ever so slightly.

"I want to learn blacksmithing and leatherworking" he decided "If I ever do go to Wall those skills would be useful. I already know how to skin an animal for its leather and there's a forge at Castle Black".

Those were good choices.

"Okay I'll go with inscriptions and enchanting" I chose "Hopefully we can buy what we need to use those skills. Westeros has ink, and I can conjure up magical items from my cards. You're suppose to get the materials you need for enchanting from magical items. And if it doesn't work elsewhere I'll come back and have the skills removed".

Seemed like a simple enough plan. Hopefully it would work.


	16. GOT 6

**Author Note**

I know the visit to WOW was short, however it was suppose to be as if PG had gotten everything he wanted in one trip he'd have no reason to go back later. This the Game of Thrones Arc of the story so I don't want the character getting distracted either, so visits to other worlds will be short until he's done with Westeros.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 6**

 **Harrenhall, The Riverlands.**

As planned we hadn't spent long in Stormwind, but I'd seen enough to know that I wanted to go back one day. Skills and spells were so easy to get there, the only reason why I'd not come back with a head full of spells was because my internal magic was limited as I hadn't much time to develop it. Still I'd learned Fireball, for use against wights, and Ice Lance, for use against those who served the Lord of Light.

Plus gold had been an issue, since I owned no lands in the World of Warcraft, and it wasn't safe to go wandering around, there had been a limit to how much mana I could make use of. I'd been able to create a few artifacts to sell, but that had only covered skill training, the two spells, plus bags of holding. I hadn't even been able to get Jon the magic sword I had promised him.

Not that he would have to wait much longer now that I could enchant things. I'd either make him a make sword using the enchanting recipes I'd picked up, or just give him one created from a card in my deck.

"I still don't get why you're so disappointed Jon," I said.

While we now approaching Harrenhall, we'd just visited the Trident, which had been a source of red mana interestingly. Perhaps the great battle there, which would have been very passionately fought, had changed the nature of the land.

"I'd thought the Ruby Ford would be… you know more..." He muttered.

He was disappointed, and I understood why. After seeing a whole new world an old battlefield wasn't so thrilling.

"You didn't expect to find some of Rhaegar's rubies there in the ford, did you?" I asked.

Jon didn't reply, but I could tell that he had wanted to. The rubies were suppose to come from the armour of Rhaegar Targaryen, who was most likely Jon Snow's real father. The story went that when King Robert, who hadn't been king then, had crushed Rhaegar Targaryen's chest with his warhammer that the rubies had turned the waters red. In reality if anything had turned the waters red it was the blood they'd spilt that day.

We urged our horses on moving at great speed, well at least compared to people on foot, and before long we came across another interesting sight.

"Bloody hell" I then said as we laid our eyes on the ruined towers of Harrenhall.

The largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, was a dark, ruinous place. Named after its builder, King Harren Hoare. Harrenhall was a gigantic castle that stood amidst vast tracts of green and fertile lands. When it had stood proudly in the past, now most of the towers were bent, lumped and cracked from the melting of the stone by Aegon Targaryen Dragon.

During the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms by the Targaryens. King Harren had thought that he could starve out Aegon and his armies while he remained behind his safe walls, so Aegon flew over with his dragons and burned them all in their towers.

Afterwards, Aegon Targaryen granted Harrenhal to his bannermen of House Qoherys, which eventually became extinct. They were followed by Houses Towers, Harroway, Strong, and Lothston. All of them, like the Hoares and Qoherys before them, died out, leading to the castle to be considered a cursed place. Many tales are told of Harrenhal, including the tale of Mad Lady Lothston, the flaming ghosts of Harren and his sons, and of servants who go to sleep and are found turned to ashes the following day

After a long, bloody history of dead lords, House Whent, originally knights sworn to Harrenhal, became lords of the castle for their part in defeating the Lothstons.

This castle was also the place where everything started for King Robot's Rebellion. Back then during a tourney's opening ceremony young Ser Jaime Lannister had been admitted into the order of the Kingsguard. Although Jaime had wanted to compete in the tourney the next day, King Aerys had commanded him to return to King's Landing to guard Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys.

That was unimportant really, what really mattered was at the ending of the tourney; Rhaegar Targaryen was champion of the joust, defeating four knights of the Kingsguard, and in the end he chose Lyanna Stark as the new queen of love and beauty, placing a crown of blue winter roses in her lap. Angering the people of Dorne, his wife's people, and Robert Baratheon, Lyanna's betrothed. Then Rhaegar had abducted Lyanna Stark, this along with the mad king burning people had started a war.

A year later, the rebellion ended and the Targeryans lost their crowns, and most were now dead or in exile.

"It's almost nightfall, perhaps we should head inside and request lodgings from Lady Whent" Jon suggested

I was the lord here, he was my squire, but he knew the customs so I was follow his advice and seek out the Lady Whent. I figured if we gave the ruling lady a nice gift she would put us for the night. I knew that visiting lords were always suppose to stay under the roof of the local lord rather than stay at inn, to not give Jon and I roof over our heads would be very rude.

"Fine with me," I said.

My squire was being grumpy again despite having gone to see a whole new world. I'd brought him useful skills as well. Nothing really seemed to lift his mood when he went all broody. I suspected he was somewhat miffed about me spending all our gold on skills only to find a combat trainer moments later. Still he'd seemed to enjoy staying in Stormwind so I doubted that bothered him too much. Perhaps he just went through patches of depression for no reason at all.

(Line Break)

 **Crossroads. Riverlands.**

Cersei entered her fathers carriage with the kind of grace and arrogance only a Lannister could display. In truth she was glad of the carriage, and to be back in the south. The Northen Roads were terrible things, barely maintained, and the Riverlanders used the rivers to transport goods and therefore, the roads were not well kept. This had caused the royal wheel house, which she had been allowed to use for the return journey, to stumble and creak loudly. It had also lost a wheel along the way due to potholes.

"Daughter," a voice intoned.

Tywin Lannister sat inside the carriage, his eyes never leaving the book he was reading even when addressing her

"It took you long enough" he then said.

Cersei guided in Tommen and Myrcella to their seats before saying anything.

"Father" she greeted.

They remained in an uncomfortable silence for a bit. This was typical Tywin Lannister behaviour. Ever since she was a young girl Cersei remembered her father letting her stew in silence whenever she had been sent to see him, never once paying any attention until he finished whatever he was doing. It was his way of showing superiority over whomever he met with

"I have left your Uncle Kevan in charge while I came with my personal guard to receive you" he said, finally putting the book down.

Cersei was surprised, her father wouldn't normally go to this much effort for anyone, even his own children.

"Not necessary but thank you, father" Cersei replied.

Tywin just nodded.

"I heard Joffrey went with Robert" the Lord of Casterly Rock commented.

At the mention of her son, Cersei shifted in her seat. Her eldest son had not been well behaved in recent weeks, and given his general behaviour this was saying something. If not for his mother's words, he would have tried to kill at least of the Starks himself, or more likely tried to order someone else to.

Lord Stark had only brought his eldest daughter with him, and only because Robert wanted young Sansa married to his eldest son. The marriage might benefit her House later so Cersei had insisted the Joffrey be polite to the Stark girl. Somehow he'd managed it.

Cersei had tried to bring the boy with her when separating from the convoy the Court had become while on the road, but Robert, had insisted on taking his son and heir with him back to the Red Keep. This was troubling because now she could no longer protect him, and already people had started whispering about her affair with her now dead twin brother. It was only a matter of time before someone suggested to the king that his true born children might not actually be his children. If that happened Joffrey would lose his claim to the throne.

"Tell me about this Baron Gothic" her father demanded "The one who bore witness against you and my son".

Cersei couldn't understand where this was going; her father wasn't the one to chat unnecessarily. So he must have a reason to talk about this particular topic. He should have been angry about losing Jaime, yet the man seemed more or less calm. Which meant he was planning something.

"The Baron is a minor lord from some far off land, But he acts like barbarian Northener…"

Tywin interrupted almost hissing at her,

"Cersei, I did not ask for your opinion on Northerns" he scolded "Answer the question".

Cersei flushed and then spent a moments gathering her thoughts as to not appear like an idiot in front of her father,

"He's smarter than the Starks" she told her father "He was the one to plant the false evidence I'm sure of it. A few of my hairs could have been taken from my chambers and placed anywhere, yet Robert acted as if it was ironclad proof. I'm sure this Gothic must have convinced young Bran Stark that he was pushed from what tower rather than fell".

Tywin raised an eyebrow, that was his only reaction.

"You haven't been to King Landing's for a few years, I know" his daughter was now saying "But Robert has been eager to be rid of me for longer than that. The Starks, and their new ally, gave him the just the excuse he needed".

Tywin had more to ask.

"And how was your brother so easily defeated?" Tywin asked, now frowning deeply.

That part was the hardest to believe. Both of the Hound and Ser Jaime had each been slain in a single blow. People still whispered about it being the work of the gods, and Cersei could come up no better explanation. Still it had to have been some trick, her brother had been the greatest swordsmen in the Seven Kingdoms.

After seeing that the men sworn to her family wouldn't have had the courage to fight even if Ceresi had thought to order them to avenge Jaime. She'd been numb for so long after the trail by combat, only now was starting to feel much of anything.

"I don't know, father" the former queen admitted "I can't pretend to understand matters of the sword, but it must have been well planned out, some trap we couldn't see".

Her father at least did know something of the sword, and he was thinking that perhaps he should send Gregor to remind the Seven Kingdoms which House had the greatest fighters at its command.

For now, he'll have to deal with his daughter's stupidity, and somehow try to re-consolidate Lannister power in the Capital.

"We'll return home for now" Twyin said to his daughter "Your children will be safe there, but you will not remain forever. I will see my grandson on the Iron Throne, and I will see my son avenged".

Cersei smiled for the first time in weeks. Revenge would be sweet.

(Line Break)

 **Harrenhall, The Riverlands.**

"Lady Whent, thank you for your hospitality," I said, while giving the woman a short bow.

The old lady of Harrenhall nodded at me before one again inspecting the gift I had created for her. It was just another Ivory Cup, expensive looking as it was made from Ivory, which wasn't easy to get here in the Seven Kingdoms what their only been Mammoth north of the wall. There were other sources of ivory of course but none of it easy to get to. Plus it looked as if it had crafted by someone of great skill.

"You'll be welcome at Harrenhall for as long as you stay here, my lord" she then said.

I smiled and followed the servant to my rooms as soon as the audience was over.

The old lady of Harrenhall, Lady Shella Whent, Lord Whent's widow and the head of the family, was an old woman without any heirs. Also while she owned the biggest castle in the Seven Kingdoms, it was barely manned, and it was falling apart. This place was suppose to be cursed and looking around I could believe it.

Following the servant we started walking through the dark corridors with only the torch light guiding us, the musty smell of rotten wood filled my nostrils, and I saw many cobwebs filling the spaces between columns. The heavy rain, which had started almost as soon as we'd entered the castle, leaked through the holes in the roof. Some of the walls were broken and full of holes offering glimpses of outside as well as empty rooms.

A flash of lightning illuminated the tower Jon and I were now being led up into, and all I could see was the endless dark corridor with no one in sight. I rubbed my eyes from the sudden light and continued walking.

"We should go back" Jon said hesitantly "Sleep in the stables".

This amused me.

"Afraid of the dark, Snow?" I teased,

Jon glared at me and refused to answer.

"There's nothing in here" I went on to say "Are you expecting to find ghosts..."

That was when a swarm of bats emerged from somewhere, spooking the hell out of me. The servant barely reacted, he seemed more a zombie than a person. Only he was a wight thankfully.

We were left in a dark room at the end of a very corridor. Stepping into the room was like crossing into another world, one where the crumbling walls groaned around us like a dying beast, and any movement filled the air with dust. The stables might have been better, I was sure Ghost was happier than us. Mind you I'd had to leave him in a card when visiting Stormwind so doubtless he wouldn't want me to share his sleeping space.

"The Mad Lady Lothston once ruled this castle, cooking children, biting the flesh of her handmaidens, bathing in their blood and serving feasts of human flesh." Jon told me, not doubt trying to scare me since I'd question his courage "They say that old King Harren's soul still remains here, haunting away any who dares reside in his castle. On still nights, when the air feels heavy, if you listen you can hear the long wails of Harren and his children burning".

I rolled my eyes.

"Did Old Nan tell you that?" I asked.

Jon smiled and then moved away from me, to explore more of the large and spooky room

"Do they really say that about me?" a raspy voice asked from the darkness "How depressing, its all true of course, still rather depressing".

I whirled around and my eyes focused at the sight of a ghost floating in the air before me. He saw me looking and his eyes narrowed.

"You can see me?" it asked.

He was the ghost of a tall man, thick shouldered, with a square jaw and was wearing an elaborate crown on his head.

"I can," I said while nodding.

Before the ghost could utter another word, three other ghosts appeared from the wall and screamed so loudly that my eardrums hurt. They looked like they been burned alive inside suits of armour.

"My sons" the ghost said sadly, "Aegon Targaryen burned us in our tower because I wouldn't bend the knee".

I looked at Jon, who was currently testing a bed to see how sturdy it was. He'd not all noticed the screaming ghosts.

"Well me and my friend will be leaving now" I said.

I was not one for Scooby Doo mysteries. I didn't care if someone was somehow faking a ghost or not.

"Whoever said anything about leaving my dear boy," King Harren said with a mad glint in his eyes. "You'll stay here with us".

This as not an option,

"I don't think, I will." I said "But before you attack let me show you a magic trick".

The spirit scoffed

"Very well boy amuse me and I will kill you quickly" he said "Fail to amuse me and I'll burn you alive just like I do to the servants who displease me".

I used Ghostly Prison to contain the spirit, and since I had no idea how long that would last. I grabbed Jon Snow by the arm and led us out of this insane place.

(Line Break)

"Lord Gothic, are you leaving already?" The old lady said kindly as we guided the horses out of the stables.

Yeah I wasn't going to stay in a haunted castle, it was no where near as much fun as I had imagined. Plus there was the whole being burned alive thing.

"Yes we are, my lady. I'm afraid we've imposed on your hospitality enough already" I replied.

She looked confused.

"But you've only been here an hour" she said.

That was an hour too long.

"Well we weren't as tired as we thought" I lied.

Since our horses weren't well rested I traded them for new ones. Not an uncommon practice for people on long trips. I even paid to get better horses.

"It was a pleasure my dear to have guests in the castle" the old lady said as Jon and I mounted our new steeds "I usually only entertain recruiters of the Night's Watch whenever they come by".

I decided to be kind.

"Perhaps we'll visit again my lady" I lied "I wish you well".

I thanked her again and then turned to Jon.

"Let's get the hell out of here" I told him softly.

Which was exactly what we did.

(Line Break)

 **Isle of Faces. The Gods Eye.**

It took me a moment to realise that this was one of the Children of the Forest. Jon and I stared at each other and then what seemed to be a little girl/plant person for a long moment before she spoke.

"You are the one he has seen, come he wishes to speak to you" the magical creature said.

She gestured for us to follow further into the tree. I urged Jon to come with me and when he reached for his sword I shook my head, which led to him staying his blade.

Once we both had caught up with little girl/plant person I walked slowly behind her and looked down at the small person

"What is your name?" I asked.

I could guess, but I wanted to know for sure.

"Leaf" she answered simply.

I turned to look at Jon and saw that he was eased up a little. You'd think after seeing Night Elves and such that he wouldn't be shocked now, yet he was surprised.

"Are you one of the Children?" Snow asked.

She seemed to find this funny.

"I suppose 'Child' isn't a fitting name for a member of such a long-lived race, but that's all he knows to call you" I said.

Leaf smiled at us, it was a very human expression, and somewhat comforting despite her alien face.

"I did not take offence" Leaf replied "And even if I had I would not dare express it. I ca not deny that there is a magic in you the likes of which I have never felt. It is a terrifying as it is attractive".

I hope she didn't mean in a sexual way, because that would be creepy given that she looked be Arya's age. Of course she wasn't actually a little girl, she was thousands of years old, but that didn't change the fact that she had the shape of child.

"You don't need to fear me. If I can help you I will" I promised.

There race was all but gone from what I understood, if I could avoid letting them be wiped out I do it. I might not know how to handle ghost, at least not yet, but I could fight zombies and zombie makers. Also if needs be I'd put the Children into blank cards and resettle them somewhere else.

"Your magic alone makes me feel stronger than I have since dragons flew in the skies" Leaf said "there may yet be hope for us all".

Leaf led us down a tunnel that had walls made of soil and roots.

"He is in here" the Child said.

I was confused. I had assumed she was taking to more of her kind.

"Whose in there?" I asked.

Leaf looked amused once more.

"The Greenseer" she said.

Now I was even more confused, and Leaf seemed to sense this.

"We have travelled a great distance through the earth" she told me "It is old magic, a passageway from Weirwood to Weirwood. All my kind could travel this way once".

So they were a kind of druid then. Druids in D&D could move long distances by walking into a tree and walking out of another tree somewhere else. Which was kind of like what's we'd done.

"This must be why the First Men and the Andals cut down the weirwoods when fighting The Children" I mused, before turning to Jon "Wait here".

I went in the direction Leaf that pointed to find a man who was as much a part of the tree as he was human. From little I could see the man still had a small amount of pale white hair and his skin was the same colour as the bark of the weirwood.

"Very good, you have come" he said.

Well I had wanted to met him at some point. Might as well be now.

"Hello Three Eyed Raven" I greeted "I'm Gothic the Planeswalker. Baron of Canterlot, and Lord in the North".

He had other names and titles as well I just didn't care about them.

"You are new, something that I did not foresee" the greenseer was now saying "You have done more to change the song in mere weeks than I have been able to do in my entire life".

Now I was confused once more.

"What song?" I asked.

I was given a sort of answer.

"The song of fire and ice" he told me "Of the seasons".

That didn't help.

"Speak plainly" I commanded.

To my surprise he did, more or less.

"The seasons of this world were not always as they were. Once before the First Men slaughtered The Children there were summers and winters that lasted only months, the winters were not so cruel".

So there was some kind of supernatural imbalance behind the year long seasons.

"We created the White Walkers" I heard Leaf say as she followed me into this space "and they grew beyond our control bringing even longer and crueler winters".

So they'd made things even worse in an attempt to save themselves. They must have used the White Walkers to force a peace between themselves and the First Men, then lost control of them later.

"Eight thousand years before the Targaryen Conquest, a winter known as the Long Night descended upon the world, when the White Walker were at the height of their power, this winter lasted an entire generation" I was now being told "In the darkness and cold of the Long Night, the White Walkers descended upon Westeros from the Lands of Always Winter. The conflict that arose from the Long Night is known as the War for the Dawn as the White Walkers sought to bring an end to all life and to cover the world in an endless winter".

This I already knew.

"Now they return and intend to the same, should they succeed they will cover the world with snow and ice" the greenseer warned "Only the Others and their dead will go on".

So the White Walker's master plan was an ice age. Well that was bad.

"And let me guess the Lord of Light wants to burn it" I surmised.

The demon I'd seen in a vision scared me much more than the White Walkers, necromancers could be destroyed, the Walkers had weaknesses, massive demons with power over shadow and fire were trickier to handle.

"Yes with fire he will come" the greenseer said "but that is many years from now, and if the Walkers are defeated balance may be restored to the seasons, and to magic, saving us all".

Well I'd have to deal with an army of the dead. That would require dragons and therefore a lot of Red Mana.

"Still, despite the changes you have made, the stag will be the death of the wolf, the lion will fight the wolf's son and the kingdoms will bleed" three eyed raven guy warned.

I didn't know why he kept trying to be less direct about this when he could be straightforward. Maybe he just like being cryptic. I doubted he got much else fun do down here, other than perving on people.

"And why should I care?" I asked.

If the White Walkers and a super Balrog were trying to destroy the world the wars between men seemed unimportant.

"Because if you can not destroy the Walkers then only men can stop them" the greenseer said "and only if untied. That is why the Others are moving now, bringing a new Long Night with them. The wars to come will weakened the realms of men".

So I had to involve myself in the war of the five kings just so idiots would have a decent change of pushing back the Others. Well they had done it before.

"What about the dragons?" I asked "Are they important".

The greenseer nodded.

"The dragons are fire made flesh" he said "The winters were far milder when the dragonlords ruled. Since the last dragon died the Others have been able to grow their power".

They'd taken their time then, it had been more than a century since the last dragon had died.

"Why not just point me in the direction of the Night King and let me blow him up or something?" I asked.

The greenseer smiled, it was a not a pleasant expression.

"Because you would die" he answered "I have seen it, and then you would join the army of the dead".

I so didn't want to become a wight, and I could imagine myself dying if I got ambushed by a group of White Walkers and their army of the dead.

"So what should I do?" I asked.

I wanted some advice. I needed some idea of what to do.

"Continue as you have, always growing stronger and to make alliances" the three eyed Raven advised.

That was not very helpful sounding at first, but if I made friends with some nobles they might sell me land. Land I could draw mana from.

"You will be instrumental in whatever comes, the world could be shrouded in darkness and cold or consumed in fire and blood, but it is unclear to me what shall be the end" the greenseer was now saying.

Mostly I didn't want to get this involved, but also I didn't want to condemn millions of people to a horrible death because I couldn't be bothered to save this world.

"I'll think about it" I said "Can I come back and speak with you again?".

While I needed some time to think I knew that I would help, but if it got too much I was going to run away.

"I will be here as long as you need me Walker of Worlds" he said "The knowledge I have shared with you is only a sample of what I have to offer".

On my way out I looked at Jon, and realised that I was going to save this world because that was what he would want me to do. Sometimes I really hated having friends, I found that I cared about what happened to them more than I did my own fate. It was bloody annoying.

"Come on" I said to Snow "I'll tell the good news once we're back on the road".

No doubt he'd have a lot of questions, and it would be best if we discussed on the move, as that would make it harder for people to over hear us.

(Line Break)

 **Horn Hill, The Reach.**

Since we had time I'd decided to visit the Reach, we were on the way to Highgarden, but hadn't made yet it so I figured we could stop briefly at Horn Hill, the ancestral seat of House Tarly. So we could a proper meal, and to sleep in a proper bed.

House Tarly were one of the Tyrells, the rulers of the Reach, most powerful vassals. Lord Randyll Tarly had a formidable reputation as a general, and had been named the finest battlefield commander in all of the Seven Kingdoms. During King Robert's Rebellion, he was the only royalist general to win a decisive victory over Robert Baratheon, defeating his army at the Battle of Ashford despite being outnumbered.

We entered the gates and were welcomed by a lean balding man with a short, grey beard. A guard had raced a head to announce us, normally a lord like me would send a raven to let another lord to let them know I was coming. I hadn't done that, but I hoped that my gift would make up for being so rude.

"Horn Hill's hospitality is yours, Lord Gothic" Lord Tarly welcomed us briskly.

He was not happy to see us.

"Thank you, Lord Tarly," I said as I got off my horse, "It's a pleasure to meet the finest general in the realm."

His eyes glazed over slightly, no doubt remembering his victory over Robert Baratheon, then he shook his head slight and introduced us to his family briefly before inviting us into the Hall. The man was a git. He practically spat the name of his eldest son and just rattled off the other members of his family's names quickly.

Dinner in this home was a dull affair I soon discovered with only bits of pleasantries shared between myself and Lady Melessa, Lord Tarly's wife. Even after giving the Lord of Horn Hill a Warlord's Axe, which I had created while on the road, the man's sour mood did not improve

Samwell, the chubby guy who had and might still kill a White Walker with nothing more than a sharp piece of rock, tried to speak to us, but he stammered a lot making it hard to understand him. I was just surprised he wasn't already at the Wall. Something I'd done to change the time line must have either prevented it or at least delayed his going to the Wall.

"You like reading?" I asked Samwell.

He glanced at his father,

"Oh.. a little bit, yeah" he said.

I smiled at him and was about to reply when his brother, Dickon spoke.

"Who cares about books, they're boring" he said.

I nodded.

"That's true for some people, but for others books are a great source of knowledge and wisdom" I told the boy.

He was a kid so he didn't get it.

"Do you read books all the time like Sam?" he asked "That's so boring."

I smiled at him,

"Well I don't just read books" I told him "I've travelled a lot too. I've seen the Wall, Winterfell, Harenhall, the Trident where a great battle took place. I've even met the King, and that was just here in the Seven Kingdoms".

The boy nearly jumped up and down in his place excitedly,

"Tell me about it" he requested.

I placed my fork down and wiped my mouth, intending to entertain the young lord, only his father took this chance to berate Samwell some more.

"And what have you done?" the lord asked his older son "You can't be much younger than Lord Gothic and Jon Snow, yet you've rarely ever left this castle".

And here was my opening.

Samwell got flushed in the face and looked at his plate embarrassed while his mother glared at her husband.

"Samwell seems like a scholar, my lord" I said "I am somewhat of a scholar myself, and I could use a smart man at my side when I go to King's Landing to serve Lord Stark. Perhaps Samwell could come with Jon and I, the open road would help toughen him up".

The lord didn't seem that eager.

"I've sent him to Lord Paxter once and he embarrassed our entire family" Tarly said.

Thankfully that wasn't an issue. I didn't care if he was useless with a sword.

"I need a man who can do sums and knows all about the history and lands of the Seven Kingdoms" I said "I employed Jon to train me to ride a horse, fire a bow, and wield a sword. He did that for me I bet he could teach your son a few things".

Jon muttered something about giving it a try. The Lord nodded and then turned to Samwell.

"I've done all I can with you" he told his son "Perhaps they can rid you of some of your softness."

I smiled at Samwell encouragingly,

"Don't worry, the first few weeks on the road are rough but you'll get the hang of it, and we'll see some sights I promise" I assured him "Plus Jon is a great teacher".

That wasn't all I had to say to Samwell.

"I have love for books too, but we have to remember that we live in a brutal world where swords not books decide the future" I told the young man.

He still looked shaken with fear, and only nodded slightly at me.

"My lord, if you'll allow me to send a raven to Highgarden I can inform Lord Tyrell of our expanded party" I requested of the lord of Horn Hill.

This wasn't totally a lie I was going to tell the Tryells that three people were heading their way, they just hadn't known I was going to visit.

"Yes, yes of course, Lord Gothic. Our Maester will assist you." The man said.

His wife looked at me barely holding her anger and instead focused on her plate while Randyll showed the first hint of a smile I'd seen since he met us at the gates.

I stood up and signalled for Jon to do so as well.

"Thank you for the lovely meal, Lord Tarly" I said "If you don't mind I'll send the letter now, then rest and leave at first light tomorrow".

He simply nodded and motioned for a servant to guide us. As soon as the door to the Great Hall was shut behind us I heard words being exchanged between husband and wife.

"Errr why exactly do you want that boy with us?" Snow asked "Have you seen him? I doubt he could lift a sword properly."

Samwell had potential, he'd killed a White Walker with just a sharp piece of rock so he could protect not himself, but a woman he barley knew and a baby that wasn't even his. Someone who could do that deserved better than the Wall or staying here being yelled at by his mean father.

"I need brains not just brawns" I told Jon "Remember there is a war coming, and in that war knowledge may mean more than another solider at our side.

He just shrugged, and I understood why he wasn't eager to Samwell to join us. He'd listened to me when I'd spoken about the White Walkers, and had accepted their existence easily enough. Which wasn't shocking since he'd met the Children of the Forest. But he was young, he didn't yet understand that more than swords were needed to win wars.

"Whatever you say" he then said.

He'd understand in time.


	17. GOT 7

**Author Note**

Including this chapter I've add twenty thousand words as an update to this story. Its not as good as I would like, but I have trouble with GOT as there is so much to remember, and so many different characters who all complex people. This is why I took so long to write something for the GOT world. Anyway this is the best I could do.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Part 7**

 **The Reach. Highgarden.**

We'd actually gotten ahead of the royal court as it travelled, despite having gone to another world, we knew this as the inn keepers who had businesses on the King's Road were still expecting the court to pass them by. And since we weren't due to arrive until after Lord Stark I'd decided that we could take our time visiting some more places.

It took us a week and a couple of days to get here, as Samwell was not rider, but thankfully we arrived at the seat of House Tyrell with no real trouble, as the road to Highgarden was patrolled. Along the way I'd gathered plenty of mana, which was good since I didn't own much land in this world. There was plenty of white and green mana here in the Reach.

Highgarden itself was in my view a silly place. A castle should inspire fear into the heart of your enemies first and foremost, not have them admiring its beauty, or at the very least it should look somewhat imposing like Winterfell did. That place looked like it last another eight thousand years, Highgarden did not.

The Reach was the most fertile and populous region of Westeros, allowing House Tyrell to gain immense wealth (through taxation of the large population) and also to muster an enormous army of 100,000 men if needs be. The Tyrells could perhaps raise and equip almost twice as many soldiers as any of the other Great Houses in Westeros.

Yet it was not a militaristic place. Highgarden was all fancy, courtyards, and statuary, and gardens. Greenery was just as prominent inside the walls as it was the fields outside. Perhaps it was meant to emulate the hanging gardens of Babylon of my own world, like how The Wall was somewhat based on Hardians Wall. Highgarden was the dwelling of chivalry and romance in the Seven Kingdoms, every maiden's dream. Sansa Stark would love it here.

I'd also noticed that even though Highgarden stood in an important crossing, it was more of a real life renaissance fair than a trading hub or fortress. People here played at being medieval it seemed.

"I'm glad you have come to visit Highgarden, Lord Gothic" Mace Tyrell said with a smile.

Unlike the other castles I'd visited, which admittedly weren't many, Lord Tyrell didn't dine with his guest in a great hall, or even in a dining room, we had our welcoming meal in a garden.

"Well, I had to see for myself the beauty of the Reach, Lord Tyrell" I said while reaching into my bag "I have a gift to thank for your hospitality. Something from very, very far away".

It was the Manaforce Mace, it didn't look that impressive, but it was made from a materials even I couldn't identify. As such it was exotic.

"A Mace for Mace Tryell" I said "Silly, but I couldn't resist".

The man clearly didn't care much for weapons as he quickly handed it his son. Who tested the weight of the mace, and seemed impressed.

"This is my heir, Loras" Mace said, introducing the young man, near Jon's age who was sitting around the table with us "Until recently he has been away squiring for King Robert's Brother in the Stormlands, and now has returned to us as knight".

He was the Knight of Flowers, no doubt people already called him that.

"Then there's this" I said next "Something for the ladies of your house, my lord".

I presented a Jewelled Torque, which was much more well received that the Mace, which hadn't been the real gift. I really just hadn't been able to resist making one for Mace Tyrell.

The Lord of the Reach passed that treasure to the young woman sitting at the table on his left.

"And my daughter, Margaery" Tyrell introduced.

A skinny girl, with curly brown hair, a sharp nose and a smile on her face got up from her chair and curtsied in such a way that it showed off some of her bosom. It was not an impressive set of breasts in terms of size, but they looked good in her dress.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Gothic" she said.

I kissed her knuckle softly,

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady" I replied.

There were more people to met.

"And my mother, the Lady Olenna Tyrell" Mace introduced.

Oddly enough, Olenna was rather silent during the interaction. She was called the Queen of Thrones, and the last time I'd seen her TV she'd been allying herself with the Sand Snakes in Dorne. If she was keeping her mouth shut, it was because she was studying us.

"This is my Squire Jon Snow, natural born son of Lord Eddard Stark, Warden of the North" I motioned to Jon who just nodded "And my page, Samwell Tarly".

Since House Tarly was a vassal of House Tyrll they would know of Sam already so there was no need for proper introduction. I'd taken Samwell as my page, which was somewhat like a squire, only more junior in rank. Sam was a bit old to be a page, but I figured Jon would be knighted by someone soon enough for doing something very brave and then I'd need a replacement.

Samwell just gave everyone a little wave and started picking at his food. I'd seen Trek fans with more social skills.

"And how do you become so wealthy as be able to afford to give such lavish gifts to strangers, Lord Gothic?" Lady Olenna asked bluntly once I had started eating.

For one I told the total truth.

"I have a magical powers" I admitted.

There was a certain evil satisfaction in telling a truth that was so incredibly silly sounding that everyone assumed you were joking.

"Funny" was all the lady said.

I shrugged and went back to my food, pretending not to notice the eyes that were directed at me.

"Lord Tyrell. Do you know much about Oldtown?" I asked "I was thinking of visiting it next".

We should have time.

"Not much" the man admitted "Other than that Oldtown is the oldest city in all of westeros, Lord Gothic. Well that and its home to the Citadel, the place where all Masters are trained".

That was not helpful. Samwell would know more I was sure. I looked at him, hoping he'd say something, but the poor fellow wouldn't even looked up. On the other hand Jon sat up happily and was chattering with Ser Loras about sword fighting.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked him taking a sip from my wine.

Soft drinks were not an options here in Westeros and I didn't trust the water, some diseases were transferred that way, so I drank wine mostly, thankfully not too much.

"Are we staying here for a while here?" he asked me.

I looked at Mace Tyrell.

"As long as we're not an inconvenience" I said to the lord.

The older man smiled.

"Not at all" he said.

That had limits of course, but now that he'd fed us we had guest rights so he wouldn't just throw us out as long as we behaved.

"Oldtown can wait if you want to stay a while" I told Jon.

This pleased him.

"Ser Loras asked me to spar with him tomorrow, I think he can show me a thing or two about being a knight. I won't be a squire forever".

The maid who was now serving more win was blushing and sneaking glances at Jon from time to time. To be fair he was handsome, and he had just mentioned that he would be a knight. The girls around here might spread their legs for less.

"How are you finding Highgarden, my lord?" a small voice asked me

Lady Margaery had spoken so softly that I'd barely heard her.

"It's very beautiful, my lady" I said.

She nodded, looking pleased.

"Highgarden is the most attractive place in all of Westeros" she was now saying "We pride ourselves on having not only be best gardens, but also on being very fertile".

Somehow I didn't think she meant the fields.

"Yes they're quite beautiful" I said "the gardens I mean".

Thankfully the lady changed the subject before I could humiliate myself.

"If you don't mind me asking, but are you travelling almost alone?" the young lady was now saying "Shouldn't a Lord of the North be accompanied by a rather larger party when coming so far from home. Don't you have guards to protect you".

Well I was a northern lord, just a minor one. I couldn't afford my own army, and I had no smallfolk to command anyway even if I could afford to start recruiting.

"I'm a new lord from a far off land" I told the pretty woman "I'm wealthy and I have land, but not much else. My travels have given me great knowledge, and I'm sure I'll vastly increase my wealth once I spread some new inventions to the Seven Kingdoms. Then I will have guards, castles and such".

Actually those things weren't part of my plans, however now that I'd spoken about it out loud, it did sound rather good. Samwell would be a good assistant in such projects.

"Isn't it unsafe though, travelling on the roads, you could be hurt" she said in a concerned voice.

I looked at her feeling a bit amused,

"We can more than handle ourselves, my lady" I said "Jon Snow is one of the finest warriors I've ever met and I'm no novice when it comes to defending my life".

Magic helped a lot with that.

"Will you spar tomorrow with my brother Loras?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"While I can use a sword I was never trained to duel like a knight" I told the lady "When I fight I aim to kill my foes as quickly as possible no matter how brutally".

She flushed, perhaps she believed what I had just told and was impressed. If so it was kind of worrying that she was pleased about me being ruthless in battle. More likely this was all an act.

"You must be a great warrior, my lord" she said.

Peasants and hedge knights travelled all over a Westeros, what was so great about travelling on my own? And judging from the way Lady Olenna rolled her eyes, she must have thought so as well. Lady Margaery at least understood that her pointless flattery wasn't getting her anywhere.

"Lord Stark must deeply care for your squire, my lord" she was now saying.

Since I didn't know why she was talking about this I waited for her to elaborate,

"Taking him into Winterfell, I mean" she said "Not many lords would take their bastard into their keeps".

I doubted Jon understood how lucky he was. He may have had to sit at a low table during feasts, but he'd gotten to go to feasts.

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives" I quoted.

The girl giggled slightly,

"And when are you planning to start a pack of your own, my lord?" she asked.

She was a little obsessed with baby making this one.

"I'm no Stark" I said "Besides I have no hold-fast to call home, or smallfolk under my command"

She looked at me oddly.

"Most men are married at your age" she said "and if you're as wealthy as they say then you can buy a castle".

I wasn't sure you could actually buy castles. Not that I needed to, I had cards for that, it was just that people would notice if a castle just popped up out of nowhere. Not that this was the issue, I wouldn't marry because I wasn't going to settle down. Once I was done sorting out this messed up world I would move on and keep travelling.

"No my lady" I told her "I will never marry".

That seemed to silence her at least for now, so I was able to fill my mouth with food rather than words. Yet I couldn't help wondering why Lady Margaery wasn't already married if she badly wanted to be. Her family was wealthy so a dowry wouldn't be trouble. Perhaps she just had really bad taste in men, or was still shopping around.

Women were crazy, I'd never understand them.

(Line Break)

 **The Reach, Highgarden.**

Most of the castle inhabitants were gathered at the courtyard to watch the spar.

Jon and Loras were circling each other; both were wearing chainmail and using blunted swords, waiting for the other to attack first. Loras cracked first and charged forward with a swing of his sword, but Jon ducked underneath and slashed out with his own weapon.

Loras managed to evade the slash aimed at his leg but lost his footing. Jon however, chose to give him a chance to steady himself once more instead of going for the win. Clearly Northen styles of fighting were less focused on fighting as a knight and more on killing your enemy.

The two clashed swords and met in a battle of strength as the men started to push against each other. Jon being the stronger managed to twist his sword to the side, unbalancing Loras and causing his sword to fly to the other side of the courtyard.

He wasn't beaten yet as Loras jumped sideways, went into a roll and picked up his blade just in time to block Jon's next attack, the roll had been well done. Loras was actually quite good and had quickly come to realise that his normal style of fighting would be useful against Jon. Now he was fighting with less style, but with more purpose, he was aiming to win not to show off.

"Your son is a natural with a sword, Lord Tyrell." I said to Mace, not taking my eyes off the fight.

The lord soon replied.

"He's going to be the greatest knight in the realm" Loras's father stated with pride.

I nodded my head,

"I'm sure he will" I agreed.

He'd be a great knight for sure, but I wasn't sure if he'd be a great warrior, sometimes those were two different things. Knights were trained to fight knights, and could easily defeat peasants with no real training. But against men with skill and training, who didn't fight like knights, he could easily be killed.

Jon proved this when managed to swipe the younger Tyrell off his feet off and was now holding his blunted sword at his neck.

"My squire will also be a great knight" I said proudly.

(Line Break)

 **Oldtown, The Reach.**

The Citadel was as a university-like complex of buildings extending along both banks of the River Honeywine in Oldtown, linked together by graceful bridges. Still even with that great tower I didn't think this place was as fancy as universities back on Earth.

Still even if their headquarters wasn't as impressive as Samwell had promised it would be, I was glad we'd come here. The Order of Maesters exhibited a huge deal of influence in all of the seven kingdoms. Every castle and keep in Westeros had a maester within it whom acted as 'advisers' and most likely spied on the lords they served.

The ruling council of the citadel was called the Conclave, composed of archmaesters, they elect the new Grand Maester after the passing of the old, decide on Citadel policies, and attend to the administration of the Citadel, as well as the training of new recruits. The Conclave also appoints the Seneschal, the maester who has to run the bureaucracy of the Citadel on a day-to-day basis.

Much like the professors in a university faculty, each of the archmaesters is the foremost expert in a specific field, such as the archmaester of medicine or the archmaester of economics, and so on.

The maesters crafted individual links composed of various metals to signify their fields of expertise. There were 16 recognised fields within the Citadel each with a different metal. From what I had been told by Maester Luwin, the Citadel focused on scientific matters and greatly disdained magic.

This was unfortunate for me as I wanted to study magic, and perhaps they some theoretical knowledge within the structure, so I was determined to see the inside of the Citadel. Samwell even more so. Jon didn't much care.

Upon my entry in the Citadel I was greeted by one of the so called Knights of Knowledge. I'd sent a raven ahead, handy little birds they were, so they'd known I was coming. I might be a minor lord, but the Citadel ran on donations so they'd be nice to someone who might be willing to give them money. Which I was as it might get me some goodwill.

"Lord Gothic, truly a pleasure to have you here" said the old man who come to greet me. "I am Archmaester Marwyn".

I nodded politely, despite the fact that he total ignored Sam and Jon, which was just rude.

"Please follow me" the old man then said "Your squire and page will given a tour of the Citadel while we talk".

I was intrigued so I followed the man to his office and soon as I entered the four candles, three black one green, suddenly lit themselves.

Marwyn was amazed. It took him a while to recover from the sight.

"In all the time have been the Archmaester of Magic in the citadel and no one could even make one of them light" the Archmaester told me "These candles were brought to the Citadel from Valyria a thousand years before the Doom of Valyria"

They were tall and twisted with sharp edges, they gave off an unpleasantly bright light and they played tricks with shadows on the wall.

"It is claimed that when the glass candles burn the sorcerers can see across mountains, seas and deserts, give men visions and dreams , even communicate with one another half a world apart" I was then informed "The night before an acolyte of the Citadel says his vows, he must stand a vigil in a vault with nothing but a black candle and no other light is permitted. He must spend the night in darkness unless he can light one of the candles. According to my peers this ritual is done to show that even with all the knowledge one has acquired here at the Citadel, there are still some things that are impossible. The truth is however that it is an old test to discover if a person has magical talent, you lit all of them just by entering the room. You must be a great wizard".

At this point I started contemplating whether to destroy the Archmaester or not.

"The other archmaesters must not know!" he then said.

I was taken aback by the seriousness in his tone of voice.

"Why shouldn't they know?" I wondered "Its not like they believe you if you told them".

He soon explained why.

"You may have heard of the Citadel's disdain for magic and the Higher Mysteries. However, the truth is that most Maesters distrust magic strongly ever since our rivalry started with the Alchemist's Guild. It has turned from an irrational fear to an effort destroy anything that is magical and turn the world into a place that fits their vision of what is right," He said, each world dripping with venom. "I suspect the dance of the dragons and even the death of the Targeryan Dragons were the machinations of the Citadel. So you must understand the severity of the situation and the need for secrecy between us".

I'd heard that fan theory about the maesters trying to destroy everything magical. Turns out it was true.

"Us?" I asked.

The old man smiled.

"You're going to teach me a great deal, more than I'll ever learn alone" he replied.

I had no intention of doing that. For starters I couldn't, I didn't even know that much about magic. Then I considered that if I wanted to learn more magic he might be of aid to me. I could at least give him a harmless artifact and the promise of more later.

"What can you offer me?" I asked.

The old man smiled and opened a cupboard.

"I have in my years here carefully copied every word about magic into these, and I have even gathered bits of information from outside sources and made careful notes. In exchange for your knowledge I will happily give you these texts".

They were just a few heavy leather bound tomes, but that was good as they'd fit the pouch of holding I'd picked up while in Stormwind

"Shadowbinder, Shapechanger, Skinchanger, Dragons, Warlocks" the man was now saying "Knowledge of them all is here".

For this world these books were basically the mother load.

"Okay I'll tell you what I can" I told the maester "In exchange for these books".

It was a deal he eagerly accepted.

(Line Break)

 **The Road. The Reach.**

"So to King's Landing at last" said Jon Snow as we left old town.

I'd done what I'd wanted to do here, and more, a meeting of the Conclave occurred during my stay in the Citadel and I gotten to meet the Grandmaester Pycelle. Suffice to say I wasn't impressed. The man praised my intelligence, but since I knew he served the Lannister I tricked him into a card. I planned to dumb off at a retirement home on a more advanced world sometime in the future. I'd put Jon in a card when travelling to Stormwind, so I knew that people in the cards did not feel the passage of time, some sort of stasis I guessed.

Also I'd had some time to spend with Archmaester Marwyn, who had given me one of the black candles, so we'd able to talk to each other, he had promised to report any news concerning events of importance to me. And in return I had promised more artifacts. I didn't know enough to actually teach him magic, but the promise of power would do for now. And he wasn't any kind of threat since he was basically a joke to the other Maesters. If my understanding was correct they no longer believed magic existed is any meaningful way, boy would they be surprised in the future.

I was pretty sure that by spreading all my artifacts around that I was actually hastening the return of magic. But even if they didn't all I'd wasted was the time required to gather mana, which was going to be less of a problem now that I had made contacts with some important people. I was going to buy more land, a lot more.

"No we're going to Dragonstone first" I said

Which wasn't that far from King's Landing so we should still be able to get there from here, then go to the major city before the Court returned home. As long the king stopped do to some hunting or whoring in some town along the way, which given he was single again was highly likely.

Samwell had greatly enjoyed his time here, seeking new knowledge, I would have asked him to learn what he could of White Walkers and the Lord of Light, but I hadn't entrusted him my secedes as of yet.

My squire had been bored during his time here. No doubt he was eager to get out of here and see more sights.

"Then King's Landing" Jon asked "We need to talk to my father about the White Walkers".

That was the new plan. Although I didn't know if Ned would believe us about the Walkers. Neither of us had any actual proof, we'd never seen a Walker. Well I had, but only on TV and in visions. We'd need evidence to show everyone, perhaps we could capture a White Walker.

"Yes then King's Landing" I agreed "Hopefully we shall arrive shortly after your father does, maybe even before if we make good time".

I urged my horse on, and then heard a yell as Sam's saddle came lose causing him to slowly fall of his horse.

"Or maybe not" I then said.

(Line Break)

 **Dragonstone. The Seven Kingdoms.**

After days of riding and a trip to the island by boat, which Samwell did not enjoy, we reached Dragonstone. The ancestral home of House Targaryen was impressive even if the island upon which it resided was dreary. Dragonglass surrounded the old castle, and before long I'd gotten some red mana out of the place as soon as we arrived. Mostly likely something left over from the all the dragons that had once lived here.

Just before the Doom of Valyria, four hundred years before the War of the Five Kings, House Targaryen had settled on the island, thus becoming the only family of Dragonlords to survive the fall of the Valyrian Freehold, along with the last surviving Dragons in the world.

The Targaryens spent the next hundred years slowly building up their strength on Dragonstone, while east of the Narrow Sea the remnants of the Freehold tore themselves apart in the Century of Blood, eventually coalescing into the Free Cities.

One hundred years after the Targaryen family settled on Dragonstone, Aegon Targaryen and his two sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys set out to conquer and unite the Seven Kingdoms on the mainland of Westeros, in the War of Conquest. This they achieved using their three dragons, Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes.

Aegon declared that a new capital city would be built at the place where his army first made its landing on the eastern coast, at the mouth of the Blackwater Rush: King's Landing. The seat of House Targaryen moved there, but Dragonstone always remained their ancestral territory. Soon, the title of "Prince of Dragonstone" was developed for the heir-designate to the throne. Frequently, the heir to the throne would rule Dragonstone directly for years to prepare for ascending the Iron Throne one day. For example, Rhaegar Targaryen was Prince of Dragonstone during the reign of his father, Aerys II, the Mad King.

During Robert's Rebellion, after the defeat and death of Rhaegar at the climactic Battle of the Trident, the Mad King sent his younger son Prince Viserys and his pregnant wife Queen Rhaella to Dragonstone for safety.

Soon afterwards, Tywin Lannister's army arrived at the capital and betrayed the Mad King as soon as they entered the gates, resulting in the Sack of King's Landing. During the sack, the Mad King was killed by his own Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister. Viserys on Dragonstone technically succeeded his father as King Viserys III at least according to Targaryen loyalists, as Robert Baratheon usurped the throne and was crowned king himself.

With no major armies left, the boy Viserys was trapped on Dragonstone with nothing to do, and weeks passed as the rebels prepared to launch an attack on the well-defended island

Queen Rhaella later went into labour, the same day that a massive storm struck the island and destroyed the remaining Targaryen fleet at anchor. Rhaella died giving birth to her daughter, Princess Daenerys Targaryen.

A short time later a rebel fleet commanded by Stannis Baratheon set out to attack the island, but before they could loyal servants spirited away Viserys and the infant Daenerys on a remaining ship, fleeing across the Narrow Sea to the Free Cities. When Stannis arrived he found an empty castle.

Afterwards King Robert made Stannis the ruler of Dragonstone, instead of giving him House Baratheon's ancestral seat at Storm's End, the mighty fortress that is the capital of the Stormlands. Instead, he gave Storm's End to their much younger brother Renly Baratheon. Robert later tried to explain to Stannis that he did not mean this as an insult, but because he needed a firm hand to rein in the Targaryen home territory on the island, and he pointed out Dragonstone's royal pedigree as the traditional seat of the heir to the throne. Stannis was still not convinced of this according to what I'd heard.

The castle was made of black stone. Great lumps of rock had been carved into the appearance of dragons, much like gargoyles were in my world.

There were but a few people walking the steps that led to the old castle and the gates of Dragonstone. Outside there stood a man in his thirties I guessed, directing many away from the door,

"Lord Stannis has no intention of giving any audiences today" the guard said.

This place was no where near as friendly and open as Winterfell. It was a dark place, not evil, just gloomy and the people here reflect that in their own moods.

"I'm not here for an audience" I said "I'm here to cure his daughter of greyscale".

The guard scoffed.

"Her ladyship has been healed" he said.

I tried not to look too smug.

"From what I have heard her life is no longer in danger true, however she has been marked by the sickness, and it may relapse" I said "I can remove the illness from her completely. Go and tell your lord that, and tell him that Lord Gothic is here".

The guard sighed, and after telling us to stay put he went and got his liege lord. I'd not sent a raven from Old Town because I didn't want the magic hating Maesters to know that I was here. If rumours that a magic user had healed the young lady reached their ears I didn't want it connected to me.

Stannis' hard blue eyes locked on me as soon as he saw me, and I knew that he would offer no warm welcome.

"And who are you, another useless healer?" he asked.

I could see now why so few people wanted this man to be king. He made me feel worse just by being around.

"Perhaps," I replied "or perhaps I am the man who can see your daughter healthy and whole again"

The man's features didn't change, instead the scowl stayed firmly affixed to his face,

"We shall see" he said "Now who are you, I've never heard of any Lord Gothic?".

News travelled fast, but I doubted Stannis listened to gossip and rumour.

"People call me the Baron" I told the grumpy man "This is my squire Jon Snow, his father Lord Stark granted me my title and lands, and this is Samwell Tarly son of Randle Tarly".

The reason I'd mentioned Snow's father was that Stannis had some respect for Eddard Stark. Stannis was more likely to at least let me try to heal his daughter if he thought that Ned Stark trusted me.

"Well get in there and we'll she if you succeed where others have failed" the Lord of Dragonstone said "If you're wasting my time I'll have you all flogged".

He pushed the door open abruptly, and led us through the castle, when we got the part of the castle that I assumed was where his daughter lived, I ordered my squire and page to wait outside.

When I got inside there was no one else was in the room save the little girl who seemed very happy to see her father. The flesh on the left side of her face was petrified and grey. Hence the name of the illness.

One again I made use of Heal the Scars a lot of green mana, more than was needed, entered the body of the little girl, and by the time it was done only sign she'd ever had greyscale was the patch of skin on her face that was paler than the rest.

"You'll find that your daughter has been fully healed of her affliction" I told the lord.

Stannis actually pushed his way past me, and rushed over to his daughter's side running a hand over her once again smooth skin.

"How did you manage this?" he asked in a tone that was filled with both anger and concern, before going on to answer his own question "It was magic I saw"

I nodded my head.

"Yes my lord" I confirmed "That was magic from the land, she is healed and that is the end of it. There is no price, there is no risk to her soul or well-being I promise".

Stannis relaxed somewhat, but he still seemed worried. I figured that he still follow the new gods at this point, and that he had been brought up to be distrustful of magic.

"Find Maester Cressen, you and your companions may sleep here tonight and tomorrow we can discuss your reward. You will not be harmed as long as my daughter remains well, on that you have my promise".

I bowed my head slightly and did just that. Although I was going to be careful tonight just in case someone else decided that magic was bad.

(Line Break)

The next morning I was awoken by the same Maester who'd brought me to my room, and escorted to the chamber that had a table that was also a map of Seven Kingdoms. Seated at the table alone was Stannis Baratheon who gestured for me to take a seat at his right.

"Leave us Maester" the lord ordered.

The old man nodded his head before exiting the chamber the way he'd came.

"I promised that whoever healed my daughter could ask anything that was within my power to give" the king's brother then said "And I sat with her until late into the night. She has never had so much life in her. She is truly free of the disease".

Stannis didn't smile, but he looked less dour now.

"What would you have of me?" he asked.

I knew what I wanted.

"Four small favours" I requested.

The lord's face didn't change, but I could tell he was displeased.

"You will be given only one." Stannis stated plainly.

There wasn't going to be any debate.

"Well to be fair I am only asking for one physical thing from you" I explained "the reward just comes in two parts and the third thing is just something I would like for you to keep in mind in the future, advice I hope you will take to heart, as for the forth matter is just a vow not to tell others that I healed your daughter. I don't want people hounding me everywhere go for healing or to be hunted for my magic when I only use it to help people".

Stannis made a gesture with his hand which let me know it was time to get on with it.

"The first is simple dragonglass" I said "Not a large amount, smaller bits would be better, enough to make a few daggers, arrow heads that sort of thing. I know the material is brittle, but I think it may have some uses. I want enough to experiment with".

A crease formed along Stannis' forehead as his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Of all the things you could ask of me, you ask for something that I have readily available and have no need for" he said.

That was odd, he was right to be suspicious, it was just he had nothing to worry about. The obsidian was for combating the White Walkers.

"And your second request?" he demanded to know.

This was more of a demand on his resources.

"That you send some dragonglass to the Wall" I said "Legends say that dragonglass can kill the White Walkers and there has been talk of them North of the Wall. Perhaps there's nothing to it, but if there's even a small change the stories are true then having dragonglass at the Wall could make a difference. The only expense it would cost you is transporting it that far north".

That was not all I had to say.

"In the future I made need more of the dragonglass" I went on to say "but I will not expect any future dragonglass for free I will happily pay for it, my lord"

We stood there in relative silence as Ia waited Stannis' decision. A long moment later Stannis stood and extended his hand.

"We have an agreement Lord Gothic" he said as we shook hands, grabbing each others wrists rather than hands "I will have my men gather your dragonglass and something to carry it in. I will also send some to the Wall as a gift to the Night's Watch. I don't believe in White Walkers, but it won't cost me much to send them some dragonglass, far less than I would gladly pay for my daughter's health. If they are wise they'll find a use for it".

The man then frowned again.

"As for the vow of silence that you have" the lord said "I will tell my wife, who is thankfully not here at the moment, nothing of what happened. No one will know of your involvement".

This was good news.

"What was the council you wished to offer?" he asked.

This was also important.

"I've learned that the so called 'Lord of Light' has followers in the land" I told the lord of dragonstone "My advice is that should any of the Red Priests turn up at your door that you send them away. The Lord of Light is no god, he is a demon. His priests are known to burn innocent people alive as sacrifices to the demon, and they work with blood magic, which is evil".

Stannis snorted.

"And your magic isn't evil?" he asked "What's the difference".

There was a very big difference.

"My power comes from the land around us" I explained "the sea, the woods, the fields, but blood magic takes power from people. Life from people. The Lord of Light demands that you give up innocent people to the fire, no god worth following would demand that as price for his favours"

Stannis no longer seemed so dismissive of my words, and I knew my warning might later be ignored, but it had been worth trying.

"I will consider your words, Lord Gothic" he said.

This I took as a sign it was time to collect my reward and leave.

"Thank you for time and for the dragonglass, Lord Stannis" I replied "and if you need my healing talents again then seek me out".

With that I departed. It would be best to get the dragonglass and leave. I doubted Stannis would do me any harm, I'd helped is daughter after all, but there were others here. I didn't trust them to be as grateful as their lord.


	18. GOT 8

**Author Notes.**

Four more chapters for you. I worked long and hard on these. Although the pace is being sped up. This is just part of the story after all I don't want to get bogged down.

Next up I will be updating Augment Gothic, that will be done before the end of the month. Enjoy.

Last of all I do need sponsers for this story message me for details if you care spare a few dollars a month.

 **Reviews**

 **Selias**

I'm glad you like this story.

 **RoyalTwinFangs**

Thank you.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 8  
**

 **King's Landing. Westeros.**

This was a city and a castle built on the very edge of a peninsula, it was named after Aegon's landing here in Westeros when he began the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. This is where it had all started.

Reading about it was one thing, looking at on a TV screen was also a thing, but seeing it for real was another thing altogether. Within this city were half a million people, not that impressive a population compared to cities in my world, however for a mediveil setting this was a big settlement.

Jon and I shared an excited looks as we approached the capital, and we were happy to have arrived in time to see that Lord Stark hadn't yet gotten off his horse despite having made it to King's Landing hours before us. This was because the royal family, plus their servants and guards, had been escorted to the Red Keep in such a way as to cause as much chaos for the city as possible. Roads had been cleared and the backlog had resulted in everyone else having to wait a while to get into the city while the traffic sorted itself out.

When the way was clear we rode into the city with Lord Stark, and with the Stark men, it was all good for about five seconds.

"What's that smell..?" Jon asked

Ghost whined pitifully and I didn't blame him. The city stank. No, it reeked. It was like a cesspool that had been filled up and closed shut for a few days before being opened suddenly. The stench hit hard, like a punch to the face.

Also the people here were ugly, and very badly dressed, folks in Wintertown lived in harsher lands however they were cleaner, wore better quality clothing, and were more attractive. I figured it was all the illness caused by a lack of clean water and even clean air. People in the north were more spread out so diseases would infect less people.

"Do you people even have sanitation?" I had to ask as a covered my nose with a cloth I'd dipped in some perfume. That had been a gift meant for Sansa from Jon and I "Sewers I mean".

Samwell vomited despite also having a cloth. Ned Stark seemed unaffected. I wondered if he'd lost his sense of smell, or if he smelled much worse stinks after a battle.

"What's sanitation" Jon asked.

I told him I'd explain later.

"Horrible stench, I see what the people meant when they spoke of this place. Smells worse than a latrine pit" Sam said once he could.

Lord Stark just nodded noncommittally as we rode through the streets. We passed the great big Sept I had seen from the distance, the Sept of Baelor the Blessed. I'd watched it explode. That had been cool, not that I approved of churches being destroyed.

Then we left the poorer parts of the city, and passed by a market near the Keep. Not only stalls there were proper stores, and they weren't selling food either. These businesses sold cloth, silks, weapons, armour, clothes, wine, spices, and other things people who lived in and near the Keep would wish to buy. I'd have to come back and take a good look around when I got the chance.

"Smells a lot better up here" Jon muttered

Indeed the closer we got to the Red Keep the easier it become to breathe. The sea breeze helped a lot with that.

"I think Sam has even stopped vomiting" I commented.

Our party stopped and we got off our horses as a man approached Eddard. Also we learned that Sam had not yet to cease throwing up. Well I assumed that was what he was doing. I didn't actually turn around and look as that would set me off.

"Welcome, Lord Stark" a NPC greeted with a bow "The meeting of the small council is ready to begin. The honour of your presence is requested."

Ned nodded, then turned to Septa Mordane and his daughter Sansa, who had both exited the carriage they'd been riding in.

"Get settled in." Ned ordered the Septa "I'll be back in time for supper".

The Warden of the North then turned to Jon, intending to tell him to go along too, but since Snow was my squire it wasn't really his place to give commands. Lord Stark could however give orders to me as I was lord of the north now, and therefore owed allegiance to House Stark. However he didn't need to.

"Sam, Jon" I said "Go with them. Jon look after your sister, Sam make sure we have rooms ready and I want baths prepared for everyone. See to supper as well".

I felt dirty just being here. A good bath would help with that.

"Yes, my Lord." Jon and Sam said simultaneously.

Neither of them were normally so formal around me, but they'd sensed that things had changed now that we were within the Red Keep.

"Baron Gothic" Ned said, catching my attention. "You'll come with me."

This surprised me. I had intended to shortly follow Jon and Sam, or perhaps go down to the market. I figured all that friendship magic I'd been exposed to him made him trust more than he should. Not that I was planning to betray him, it was just that he didn't know me that well. Then again I had saved his son.

"As you wish" I replied, while dismounting from my horse and handing him or her over to one of the Stark men.

We both then looked at the messenger, waiting for him to guide us.

"If you would...like change..."

The messenger froze under Ned's cold gaze, and soon led us to the throne room, going through endless hallways, turns and stairs until we finally reached a large set of doors, in front of were two guards wearing golden coloured armour and white cloaks.

I was confused as to why two members of the King's Guard were here when the royal family was elsewhere inside the Keep. Then I realised that this was the throne room. They should be here.

The throne room was a large, spacious hall, with stained glass windows lining the sides, and large, thick pillars along the middle, all leading to the raised dais, where the Iron Throne sat.

It was a monstrosity made of spikes, jagged edges, and twisted metal. Yet there was an appeal to it, there was real power in that silly looking chair.

"Do you want me to wait here for you?" I asked of Lord Stark.

I really wanted to get a closer look at the Iron Throne.

"You won't be allowed in the meeting" Ned realised "Yes, you can stay here, and wait for me".

I nodded and, a few moments later, Varys the spider appeared. He should have been waiting for Eddard inside the meeting chamber if I recalled correctly.

"Absurd thing, isn't it?" he said, while circling the Iron Throne. "Who would want to sit on this?"

I thought carefully on my answer.

"An ambitious man" I finally replied.

I wasn't that ambitious, at least not yet, and even if I had been, there were better worlds out there to conquer. Heck I might be able to make my own plane of existence than this madhouse. Still there were worse places, the world of Dragon Age was bad for magic users like myself, then there was Warhammer 40K. Yeah things could be worse.

"And you?" I asked curiously.

The man shook his head, and touched the throne, as did I, and suddenly I felt a tingling sensation go up my arm. I turned around and checked my bracelet, one of the empty mox diamonds how glowed red. The Iron Throne was a red mana artifact. How interesting.

"Was this throne really made from dragon flames" I asked.

I remembered hearing that from somewhere.

"Forged from the swords of King Aegon's many enemies, with the help of Balerion the Blackdread's flames. The hammering took fifty nine days." the Spider supplied "At least according to the stories".

I looked at the throne with a bit more intensity.

"Dragon flame is magical in nature" I mused "Perhaps the Iron Throne was infused with some of it".

I remembered that Varys dislike magic and magic users, for a very valid reason. Yet nothing I'd said so far painted me as a mage, or at least I hoped it hadn't.

"Perhaps" the Spider said and left it at that.

A long silence passed, before the subject was changed.

"You are the one they call the Baron aren't you" The bald man asked, while stuffing each hand in the others sleeve.

Well I was wearing MageBane armour, along with denim jeans. No doubt I stood out.

"Baron Gothic of Canterlot" I corrected "And lord of some scraps of land in the North".

Perhaps I'd be more later. Acquiring more land was why I'd visited a few lords while on the way south, well that and I'd wanted to do some sight seeing.

"Oh, forgive me, where are my manners?" Varys said genially as he extended his left hand "My name is Varys."

AKA the Master of Whispers.

I took his hand in my own and shook it firmly.

"And, I am not a Lord. Simply Varys" he then said.

I nodded.

"Good to met you Varys" I replied.

The Spider then expressed what I would call, worry.

"I was wondering if you could tell me of the death of the Kingslayer" he requested.

No doubt he was putting together a report for the late Ser Jaime's father. Lord Tywin was a clever man, he'd seek his revenge only once he was sure who he should be targeting. Plus he wanted to place his grandson on the Iron Throne, that would require careful planning. Which was why he hadn't done anything yet, at least nothing I knew about.

Also it took time to put together armies. Twyin would need to secure alliances, and equip his men.

"Not much to say really" I said "The fights were over very quickly. Work of the gods I'm sure".

That didn't get me any noticeable reaction.

"Forgive me my lord the meeting is about to start" The Master of Whispers was now saying "Perhaps we shall meet again".

Next to pass through was a Maester, the new Grandmaester I assumed, He was looking irritated and disgruntled. I heard the jangling noises of a chain as the decrepit old man made his way across the throne room. The Citadel was full of such men.

The meeting didn't last long, there was some yelling, and Lord Stark soon stormed out of the chamber and strode into the throne room.

"Follow me, Baron" Ned said without breaking his stride.

A few minutes passed as I followed Lord Stark through the maze of the Red Keep, on our way to the Tower of the Hand. Somehow he knew the way.

"Meeting go well?" I asked sarcastically.

He didn't seem to get sarcasm.

"Just the opposite, actually" Ned said

I had some idea of what the yelling had been about. The Crown was six million gold dragons in debt, three million to the Iron Bank, who were money lenders who lived across the sea, and another three million to Tywin Lannister.

Now the King wanted a tourney and to pay for it the crown would need to borrow yet more money. Eddard would be understandably leery of borrowing from the guy whose son had died at Winterfell, and daughter had been disgraced. That his kids had tried to murder Bran Stark would mean little to the Lord of Lions.

"My lord, if you can spare Jon and I for a week" I said "I can get you enough bars of gold to bury a man in".

The coinage used in the Seven Kingdoms was based on the Gold Dragon, and its various denominations, the Silver Stag and Copper Penny. As their names suggest they were made of those precious metals. The Gold Dragon currency system was commodity money, based on the inherent value of the amount of gold, silver and copper in each coin, as opposed to fiat money like my world's modern modern banknotes, in which currency is assigned a theoretical value, but is physically just a medium of exchange. In a sense money in my world had no real value.

"If only I could spare you for that long" Stark replied "I wouldn't even ask how you'd get so much gold, but it would hardly matter 3 million gold dragons would be enough to bury an army of men".

That was something struck me.

"House Tryll is rather wealthy" I mentioned "Perhaps you could loan the money from them, and I can sell a few of my own treasures to pay them back, at least in part".

Ned considered this as we entered the Tower of the Hand.

"I'll write to him" he decided after a while "I am sure they will not refuse, but they will want something in return. A seat on the small council, it is possible. Perhaps we could use a Master of Crops or Master of Harvests".

I like this version of Lord Stark, he seemed to know how to play the game, at least a little.

(Line Break)

 **Dungeons. The Red Keep.**

Various dragon skulls were packed tightly into the long room. The first few were really small, no larger than a cat's skull, but as I moved further and further down the room, they got bigger and bigger, and then even bigger. These were the dragon skulls which had been displayed in the throne room during the Targaryen Dynasty. The largest were those dragons that Ageon the Conqueror and his sister-wives used when conquering most of Westeros.

"That is one big ass dragon" I said to myself.

The Targaryens had ridden these dragons like most men could ride a horse. How thrilling it must have been to be on the back of dragon, raining fire down on your foes from above. If I could do that the White Walkers wouldn't stand a chance.

"How curious" a voice that came from behind me whispered "I can sense you".

I spun quickly around and found myself face to face with a ghost.

"Even more curious, you can see me" it then said "Calm down. I shall not harm you"

The spectre floated around me. It was impression of a, broad shouldered, powerfully built man. His hair was short-cut and silver-gold. More striking, were his eyes, they were a deep purple colour. Could this be the Mad King's still haunting his home? He didn't seem mad, this spirit gave me the impression that he'd be a strong man in life, both in mind and body.

Unlike the last spirit I'd met I did not feel threatened, so I didn't run away.

"You can see me." The ghost repeated "In all the centuries I've been dead, no one has ever looked at me, and really seen me, not until you".

I remained quiet for a few moments, gathering my thoughts before finally speaking.

"You're a Targaryen, aren't you" I stated "But not the Mad King".

It wasn't a question, but I got an answer anyway.

"I am." The man smiled slightly. "They called me King Aegon the First of His Name, I was ruler here long ago".

I looked at the largest dragon skull again, before looking back at the spectre. He'd ridden that dragon into battle.

"Aegon the Conqueror?" I wondered.

It had to be him.

"Yes." The spectre confirmed "The Conqueror. There wasn't all that much conquering. Just some skirmishes here, and there. Most of the Kings who ruled here before me bent the knee rather than face me".

Aegon floated over to the largest skull.

"My dear Balerion did most of the work. Vhagar and Meraxes, too" he told me.

The dragons of his sister-wives. I couldn't imagine why anyone would marry their own sister, sure there was the whole idea of keeping the bloodlines pure, but fucking your own sister just seemed so icky.

"Not much to conquer?" I wondered.

From what I read and heard the conquest of the 7 kingdoms had been a really big deal.

"I planned my invasion quite well, and with my dragons, no army stood a chance against us" the ghost said "I imagine that in the centuries since the tales have been suitably embellished".

That was likely.

"And all that is left of my family is halfway across the world" the spirit was now saying sadly "they have many enemies waiting for their opportunity to end my line, once and for all. And there a few others who still have the dragon's blood who I can claim kinship with".

No wonder this guy was a ghost, with a heavy heart like his he was weighed down to the earth.

"You are a powerful mage" the long dead king then said.

It was odd to hear someone in this world come out and actually say I was a magic user.

"What gave you that impression?" I asked.

I did seem to get a lot of attention from ghosts in this world. That in of itself suggested I was something special.

"You can see me, for one." Aegon pointed out. "It's more than that; I can feel the power. No one has been strong enough to even hear me since the Mad King, and that didn't help with his sanity".

Well that explained at least partly why the last Targaryen monarch had been so crazy.

"How did you acquire such power?" the dead king asked.

I couldn't see any harm in telling him. Who would tell?

"Oh I'm a Planeswalker" I explain "I died and ascended into a being of great power with the ability to travel to different worlds, as well as the ability to call upon mana, which is magic that comes from the land".

Seemed rather silly saying it out loud.

"Well I imagine you have as many questions for me as I do for you" the dead king said "No doubt you want to hear about my conquests, and what it was like to ride a dragon as other men ride horses".

Actually I had better things to enquire about.

"I'd rather know how to tame a dragon and forge Valyrian Steel weapons" I said.

The ghost frowned.

"I'm sorry my boy you are not of the blood of the dragon" he said "hatching a dragon would beyond you, even if I knew where any dragon eggs could be found. Besides even if you could the dragon would not obey you".

Well I could conjure up a dragon, but it wouldn't be real, it's fire might not work on the White Walkers, who could resist normal flames. Hence why I'd gone to all that trouble to get some dragonglass.

"Although forging one our swords is possible, you could journey to Dragonstone and use the dragon glass there" the ghost advised "it was created by dragon's fire the magic is in that substance. And you would need the blood of the dragon. Then you would just need to know the spells".

This sounded too good to be true.

"What's the catch?" I asked "I have dragonglass, but it can't be as simply as that. Do you need dragons fire when smelting the steel".

The ghost shook his head.

"Oh goodness no" he said "trying that would be insane, dragon's fire is nearly as uncontrollable as wildfire, its only use is on the battlefield".

Having seen, at least on TV, what the dragons of this world could do when somewhat grown that did make sense. Someone trying to smelt steal with dragon's fire would most likely end up burning down their smithy.

"Hold didn't you have the Iron Throne made from the swords of your enemies using dragon's fire?" I asked.

The Iron Throne was a red mana artifact. I knew this.

"Yes that's how I know using dragon's fire as anything other than a weapon of war is too dangerous" the ghost told me "People died when forging that throne. Looking back I can see how stupid that idea was".

He then got back to my question about the magic steel.

"Yes you will need someone with the blood of the dragon" the king reminded "He would need to have knowledge of blacksmithing as well. It is time consuming, the spells have to be cast during the forging process and the mage casting them must be powerful".

Well that was a stroke of luck, if Jon's father was a Targaryen then he had the blood of the dragon, and he'd been given knowledge of blacksmithing. The hard part would be getting him to perform a type of blood magic. That branch of magic led down a dark road. Old Nan's tales of magic were full of blood and death.

"You could perform the spells easily" the ghost of a king was now saying "and dragonglass is not so hard to find, but finding one of descents to give up a few drops of blood during the forging process will be almost impossible".

No it wouldn't be. We just needed some good steel and a forge. I had the dragonglass, and I was Jon would give up a few drops of blood for a Valyrian Steel sword. I'd just have to present the idea to him the right way.

"One of your decedents is my squire" I told the ghost "He takes after his mother, who's a Stark".

The king look intrigued.

"Does he have dreams of the future?" the ghost.

I shook my head.

"Does fire burn him?" was the next question.

I just shrugged. I couldn't recall if Jon was fire proof or not. Not that this meant he wasn't a Targaryen.

"Well there's no harm in trying to forge a sword of my people" the ghost said "If he is of my blood the forging will be a success, if it he isn't you'll just have a fancy looking sword".

It was worth a try.

"Tell you what. I will let you have Blackfyre, the sword I forged my conquest of the Seven Kingdoms" the ghost offered "It's been sitting in a chest behind a false war since the last Blackfyre Rebellion. Its not sword for a good man, but it can be reforged and a weapon should be used

Yeah that would be simpler than making a new one.

"However there is a price for my knowledge and my favours" the ghost warned.

I really hoped that he was going try to make me avenge his family or something like that.

"You must come and talk to me again" the ghost said "I haven't had anyone to chat with for nearly twenty years, it gets bloody boring being dead".

That I could do. In fact I could do even better. I might be able to bring him back to life.

(Line Break)

 **The Hand's Tower. King's Landing.**

"Open it and see," I said with a small smile.

Jon was frowning when he unlocked the chest, he had absolutely no idea what could be hidden in it. When he found out he was going to be so surprised.

"Where did you get this?" he asked "This chest has the Targaryen mark upon it".

I laughed a little.

"You would not believe me if I told you" was my reply.

Jon couldn't see spirits for some reason, despite having the blood of the dragon and of the First Men. I didn't know why he couldn't warg or greensee. Perhaps something had to happen to trigger the skills, like how Bran had been in a coma.

"It's a sword," he said, sounding rather surprised. "Why are you giving me a sword?".

Mostly because I'd promised him a magical blade.

"It is not just any sword" I informed him "Look at it closely."

Jon took the sheath in his hand and looked at the hilt of the sword. Then he drew the weapon.

"The blade looks like Ice, only smaller and its a different colour" Jon was now saying "This is Valyrian steel, isn't it".

Indeed it was.

"How did you come by it?" Jon wanted to know.

I just smiled, and avoided the question somewhat, or at least I didn't give him all the details.

"This is one of two ancestral swords of House Targaryen" I told Jon "It is way too important to just to sit in an old chest. This is the sword Aegon the Conqueror used during the conquest. Now, it is passed on to you. Don't worry I didn't steal or anything like that, and I had the blade reforged into something more modern looking and the pommel reworked into a wolf's head since a dragon would be a bit of a giveaway. You might want to rename the sword to something like Wolf Claw or Wolf Fang".

Aegon had also told me that Brendon Rivers, who was now the Three Eyed Raven had Dark Sister. I was going to go recover that sword at some point. It was most likely somewhere in his cave. Aegon didn't know for sure as he was trapped in the Keep.

As to why I'd gone to all that trouble, that was due to the vision I'd had of Jon holding Longclaw. It had struck me after seeing Blackfyre that maybe the sword hadn't been Longclaw but a sword like it with a wolf's head pommel.

"If anyone asks tell them its a blade that's been in my family for generations and that I passed it on to you" I instructed.

Blackfyre had been a cool looking sword, but it was too recognisable due its dragon pommel.

"Well, what do you say?" I asked Snow.

Jon was speechless for a while.

"Thank you, Gothic," he managed to say.

He should be thanking Aegon the Conqueror. However that was something I was going to do, and I had just the card for the job.

(Line Break)

 **Dungeons. The Red Keep.**

I'd known that Planeswalkers were powerful, but I'd not understood just how powerful we could be until I'd brought Aegon the Conqueror back to life. It had even been simple. First I'd placed the ghost in a card, then I'd set him free again before using the card Breath of Life to restore him.

If it worked on a ghost then it might work on other souls that hadn't moved on to the afterlife, like vampires. I didn't think it would work on zombies, as they were animated dead bodies not people of any kind. Besides I'd never be able to cast the spell enough to matter against the Wights the Walkers controlled.

Now the reborn king and I we were both deep below the known parts of the Red Keep, behind a hidden wall. I'd used the card Battlefield Forge to make a forge within a hidden chamber, and here was where Aegon had reforged Blackfyre, a weapon that been dishonoured, into the sword Jon now carried. He'd told me wanted the sword used again by a great warrior, and the reforging had served as a good first lesson in Valyrian blood magic. Not that I intended to use any other of their blood magic. Not unless I found a dragon's egg. If I did Jon might be able to hatch it.

Still the knowledge was far from useless. Fire and Blood, the words of House Targaryen were the key to riding dragons and smithing Valyrian Steel. I was not blood of the dragon I was a Planeswalker. So it might be possible for me to forge a new kind of magic sword using my own blood and some material that was connected to my kind. The process could even be adapted for other kinds of magic users in the right substances were found.

"It is finished my friend" the former ghost told me.

I was surprised as I'd only just finished enchanting the blade with magic last night and now he was done. A whole new Valyrian Steel sword had been made. He must have worked for hours without any rest.

"I call it _Winter's Bane_ " Aegon informed me "Made to slay the White Walkers and hold back the Long Night".

The longsword was as much a work of art as it was a weapon. Its blade was steel with black ripples seeming to flow through it. The handle of the sword had five small gems embedded on both side. Two matching gems for each colour of mana. Rubies for Red Mana. Star Sapphires for Blue Mana. Emeralds for Green Mana. Diamonds for White Mana. And Onyx gems for Black Mana. On the pommel was a silver star, meant to remind me of the one I'd made when falling to this world.

Aegon had gotten the gems from the chests of treasure that had been hidden behind the moving wall this room was also shielded by. There had been other gems and old coins as well, but Aegon was taking most of those with him. Anything he left was mine. All the remaining treasure was payment for me bringing back to life, and also for the information I'd provided.

"Dark Sister is yours as agreed" Aegon told me "Assuming you can recover the blade, but I wanted to make this sword for you. As a token of my thanks".

He'd asked a lot about me being a Planeswalker and my adventures he'd used what he'd learned when adding features to this sword that was plain to see.

Plus he'd not been a physical being for a long time. Forging the sword had allowed to exercise his new muscles and to get use to being able to interact with his surroundings.

"Now I will go" the man who'd one been king said "Daenerys Targaryen needs me".

I'd informed him of Daenerys, and he wanted to find her, and teach her how to be a proper dragonlord.

"As agreed I will do my best to keep Daenerys away from the Seven Kingdoms" he then said "My family's legacy has been nothing other than war and madness since the Iron Throne was forged. Its time for something new, something better".

Perhaps he'd find Daenerys, marry her and try to build a new Valyria in Slaver's Bay. If so I wished him luck.

"Good luck my friend" I said as I shook Aegon's hand.

The former king was now dressed in simple clothes, his silver hair hidden by a hood. He'd been here for centuries so no doubt he knew the Red Keep better than anyone else and would find away to the docks. He could easily afford passage on a ship to Esso. From there it would take a long time to find what remained of his family, but I had a feeling he'd do it. I just hoped that one day I didn't regret restoring him to life.


	19. GOT 9

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 9**

 **Tower of the Hand. King's Landing.**

Lord Stark trusted me, he had valid reasons to. So I wasn't that surprised when he asked me of my opinions of those who ruled the Seven Kingdoms. Wisely I'd chosen not to talk about King Robert as Ned was found of the guy. I thought he was sorry excuse for a king.

"Baelish is the worst of them all" I warned.

Eddard seemed truly shocked,

"My wife once told me Baelish is a friend of hers, and that he is trustworthy" Ned said.

I had to fight off the urge to laugh upon hearing that.

"The truth, lord Stark, is that Baelish wants your wife, he is loyal only to himself and his own desires, which just happen to include Lady Catelyn" I told the Hand of the King "Your wife only remembers the boy she grew up with, not the man he's became after your brother nearly killed him".

I knew something that would help convince Ned that he would be wise to heed my warnings.

"He has spread lies in court saying that took both Lady Catelyn and Lysa Tully's maidenheads" I told the Warden of the North.

Eddard's expression turned to anger. If he'd been King Robot I was pretty sure he would have marched down to whatever whorehouse Littlefinger was currently in, and would have crushed the Master of Coin's skull with a warhammer.

"Let Baelish think you foolish and trustworthy" I advised "He'll underestimate you".

Eddard stared at me, seeming conflicted.

"I didn't come here to play games at Court" the lord said "but perhaps you're right".

There was more I needed to say.

"Grandmaester Pycelle works for House Lannistar, he'll report everything you do to the former queen and her father" I informed Ned, acting as if I didn't know exactly what had happened to that old git "Varys is a far more enigmatic. He seems to truly care for the realm, but what he thinks his good for the Seven Kingdoms might not be what we think is good for them".

Lord Stark sighed.

"Is there anyone I can trust here?" he asked "Aside from the people I brought south with me".

I considered that question.

"Renly might not stab you in the back" I said.

And wasn't even sure about that, but at least I was able to resist the urge to make a joke about him stabbing somewhere lower than the back.

"I need to check up on a few things" Lord Stark then told me "I want you and Jon to keep an eye on Sansa for me. Keep her safe".

While I didn't care for Sansa I'd keep her alive for Ned's and Jon's sake.

(Line Break)

 **King's Landing. Seven Kingdoms.**

The ruler of this realm was not a patient man. Unlike everyone else who were quite happy to wait for the knights to start the joust when they were ready.

"I've been sitting here for days! Start the damned joust before I piss myself!" The guy who sat on the Iron Throne shouted drunkenly.

Soon I heard Sansa's voice. She was close by, but she hadn't wanted to sit next to her bastard brother so Jon and I sat on the beach next to hers. We could guard her from here so I didn't care about the seating arrangements.

"Who's that?" she asked as she pointed at the giant of a man on horseback.

Baelish, who had taken the seat next to Sansa, answered for her.

"That is Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain. The Hound's older brother" he said.

Also a man I'd like to see dead. If I had knowledge of such things I would curse him with the darkest of magic.

"And his opponent?" the red headed girl wondered

And once again, Littlefinger answered,

"Ser Hugh of The Vale. He was Jon Arryn's squire. Look how far he's come" he said.

The two 'knights', I didn't either of them deserved that title, bowed to their drunken king before riding to their respective sides of the field. During the first ride, they both missed their target as the crowd gasped. Then they soon turned their horses around and rode once more. The crowd looked on, and excitement rose the closer the two got. The excitement was replaced with horror when The Mountain's lance suddenly splintered against Ser Hugh's throat.

The boy fell from his horse with wood sticking out of his throat while coughing out blood. Sansa screamed loudly as almost everyone stood up. Even Jon looked away. I just stared at the dying valeman and didn't feel anything. I felt no desire to risk myself to save him, and I wondered when I'd become so callous.

An eerie silence fell over the entire tourney and only the sound of Ser Hugh choking on his own blood could be heard.

(Line Break)

"You seem happy" I said to Jon as I handed him something I had just introduced to Westeros.

Well as happy as he ever could be. The bastard of Winterwell didn't smile very often, but now that I'd gotten to know him I knew he was hiding how pleased he was.

Jon examined the beefburger before biting into it. The burger hadn't been hard to make, they had ground beef, bread and cheese, it was just a matter of finding a cook willing to follow some instructions.

Alas pizza hadn't caught on down here as growing tomatoes was tricky when you don't have centuries of experience growing things in greenhouses like they did up in Winterfell.

"I did well in the melee" Jon remained me once he eaten his burger "and in the archy contest".

He hadn't won either of those, and he couldn't joust as he wasn't a knight, still he'd done his father proud. Even Sansa had cheered for him.

"Well, now. That's rather underhanded," I offhandedly commented.

The Mountain was about to face off against Ser Loras. Another man he planned to kill today.

"What is?" Jon asked with a raised eyebrow.

I soon told him.

"Loras Tyrell's mare is in heat. It's attracting the attention of Clegane's stallion," I explained "Ser Loras is well aware of this".

Currently they were having horse foreplay, which seemed to involve making noises at each other, and not standing still. I was pretty sure male horses were larger than the male so Clegane had be riding the stallion.

"That's…not honourable," Jon said with a troubled expression.

I snorted.

"Honour? Honour gets you killed in the South, Jon. No one in the southern kingdom cares about it". I said.

Snow was now getting grumpy again, he did that a lot.

"Knights should..."

Jon was interrupted by the sight of the Mountain killing his horse with a single ferocious blow that half severed the beast's neck. By the time the horse fell silent, Ser Gregor was striding down towards Ser Loras. No doubt intent on murder.

Over the cacophony of shrieks and cries, I heard a voice shout out for someone to stop the Mountain, but none dared make the attempt. I could have used magic, but that would risky in such a crowd someone might notice, and I was surrounded by Anadals not First Men. I didn't want to get them into a witch burning mood.

Jon then drew the sword he was calling Wolf's Claw, and went to intercept the Mountain. It wasn't a moment too soon, he saved Ser Loras from a blow from Ser Gregor, by holding his sword perpendicular to the Mountain's slash above his head. A normal sword might have shattered under that blow, but Jon wasn't holding a normal sword. Plus he was stronger than he looked.

'Bad idea! Bad idea! Bad idea!' was what was going through my mind. However I calmed myself somehow and grabbed the Mountains sword with TK, in the bright light of day the slight silver aura, if there was one, went unnoticed, sadly I wasn't able to effect the blade much. The Mountain was freakishly strong.

"Get out of here!" Snow shouted at the stunned Knight of Flowers.

The young Tyrell obliged as he scrambled away. The Mountain tried to go after the knight, only to lose his footing for a second, and Jon used the brief moment Ser Gregor stumbled to strike out at the Mountain, the thick armour should have managed to absorb the blow. Only it was a magic sword, forged with fire and blood. It broke the armour.

"STOP THIS MADNESS!" Robert boomed, actually sounding like a ruler for once "IN THE NAME OF YOUR KING!"

Jon did as he was told, backing away, the Mountain didn't obey, he lurched forward, then dropped to the ground.

A moment later, Ser Loras had returned to the field and was praising Jon as one of the Kingsguard dared to see the Mountain was still breathing.

"I owe you my life, Jon Snow. The day is yours," Loras said loudly enough to be heard.

This earned cheers from the crowd, as applause rang through the commons. They quietened as King Robert stood up to appraise my squire.

"Give me your sword and kneel" the monarch demanded.

My squire did just that, and if the ruler noticed the quality of the blade he didn't mention it.

"You have acted like a true knight this day" the king said, sounding far more formal than normal "You did well in the melee showing your skill as a warrior, and you risked your own life to defend another when he could not defend himself".

I knew what would happened next. When in the right mood the monarch could be very generous.

"Jon Snow," Robert began as tapped Jon's shoulders with his sword "In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the young and innocent. In the name of the Maid, I charge you to protect all women. Rise, Ser Jon... the White Wolf!"

The crowd erupted into rapturous applause, as cheers filled the air for the new knight even as the dead Mountain was dragged off the field by four strong men.

"That went well" I muttered.

(Line Break)

 **Tower of the Hand. The Red Keep.**

Inside my chambers, which were the largest within the tower after Lord Stark's, Jon, Sam and I discussed a few matters. The room contained a four poster bed, a table, which were all sat around, a wardrobe, and few items of use that weren't important enough for me to know the names for.

"So, have either of you chosen a sigil, yet?" Samwell asked, as he filled out some paper work.

Apparently in Westeros the evil of paper work existed. New lords and knights had to register their details. Informing the crown of their names, any lands they owned, as well as what sigils they used.

Jon, who should be elated that he had finally earned a name of his own, was now frustrated at his inability to decide what his heraldry would be.

"I was just wondering, Jon" I said "If you don't believe in the new gods then do you take the knight's oath seriously, does it still mean anything since you were charged in the name of the Seven?".

Jon considered my words before replying.

"A man of the North honours his oaths" the new knight told me "Doesn't matter which gods I believe in I promised to protect the innocent and act fairly so I will".

That made sense.

"What happened to the white wolf on black field?" I asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

According to what Samwell had told us earlier, bastard who earned their own names, if they came from a noble family, traditionally reversed the colours of their noble parents family when setting up their own houses.

"I don't want Lady Stark to think I have any ideas of taking Robb's birth right," Jon explained "My House will not be like House Blackfyre"

The founding of House Blackfyre hadn't caused any problems, initially. It wasn't until Daeron II (whose father had legitimised all his bastards while dying) was crowned that things started to deteriorate. During the rule of Aegon the Unworthy, Daeron's parentage was under doubt, with accusations of the then Queen Naerys committing adultery. Rumours were quelled after Aemon the Dragonknight defended his sister's honour and slew the accuser, one Ser Morgil Hastwyck, in a trial by combat. However, the rumours resurfaced following the death of the Dragonknight and Queen Naerys.

Historians could never quite agree on why Daemon revolted. Some saying it was because he was denied the right to marry his cousin Daenerys, while others said it was because Daemon resented his status as a bastard despite being given the name Blackfyre and the sword Blackfyre. Whatever the reason was, the First Blackfyre Rebellion occurred, plunging the Seven Kingdoms into another civil war almost seventy years after the last. Though Daemon won many battles and skirmishes, he eventually lost at the Battle of Redgrass Field, where Bloodraven (who was now the three eyed raven) and his archers rained arrows upon Daemon and his twin sons, killing all three.

This led to Aegor Rivers, otherwise known as Bittersteel, to take Blackfyre, the sword, and flee into exile with Rohanne of Tyrosh and the remaining children of Daemon. That was when the sword Blackfyre was recovered and brought to the Keep. At least according to the reborn Aegon.

For decades after, House Blackfyre continued to harass Westeros, until the War of the Ninepenny Kings, where Ser Barristan the Bold slew Maelys Blackfyre. Maelys was, at that point, the last male to bear the name Blackfyre, and there was no knowledge of any women in the House. Subsequently, the House was declared extinct even though the Golden Company, which House Blackfyre had founded for their wars, continued to endure.

"You aren't Daemon Blackfyre" I pointed out "Besides, there is already a cadet branch of Starks. House Karstark."

Jon sighed.

"It doesn't matter what I think. If Lady Stark sets her mind to something, when it concerns me, she won't change her mind" he said.

If I were him I'd not give a damn what Lady Stark wanted. She'd never really done anything for him, she just hadn't objected too much to what her husband wanted.

"Well I've decided on a silver shooting star flying over a castle on black background for House Gothic" I decided "Like Jon suggested".

He's suggested it because the silver shooting star had appeared the night before I'd wandered into Winterfell, and in way it had signalled my arrival. Jon had guessed the connection, however he didn't know that I'd been the thing falling from the sky. As the for the castle, that was simply a symbol of strength.

"So that House Gothic banner sorted" Samwell said "Now Jon...

Sam's face lit up all of a sudden.

"Why not have a white wolf howling on a black banner, and the wolf is howling at the falling star of House Gothic" Samwell offered.

Ser White Wolf, as he was now correctly known, didn't look convinced. I however liked that idea.

"Look Jon, you all know that you have no plans to steal Winterfell from Robb. And I'm quite sure you'll do right by any children you may have so as not to tempt them into trying to take Winterfell" I was now saying "You're in service to House Gothic, you've got twenty thousand gold dragons since Ser Loras handed you the prise money, and you'll be my Master at Arms once I set up somewhere".

The prise money had been halved as the Tryll's hadn't been willing to loan enough to cover the original amount the king had wanted to give away as a prise.

"You can marry for love, and own land by buying it like I do" I was now saying "You don't need Winterfell. This is your chance to set up your own legacy, separate from the Starks while still honouring your father".

Jon fell silent for a while. Eventually he looked up, and half-smiled at me.

"Fine. You win," Jon said "I'll go for the white wolf on a black field, howling at a silver shooting star".

Sam started to write things down. He'd handle having the banners made, and shields painted. If I had a castle he'd be my steward, and run its day to day operations for me. As it was he was my new squire, which might please his father.

"Now you need to chose words my lord" Samwell said to me "Something memorable for your house. With the falling star maybe something like: Look to the Sky, or Look to the Heavens.

Since Jon was only a knight he wouldn't need words for House Whitewolf until he had children to inherit the lands I would secure for him. He was currently a knight in service to a lord which was better than being a hedge knight but not as good as being a landed knight.

I however was the founder of House Gothic, a lord in the north, as such I needed banners, and words. Winter's Bane was my family sword, not that intended for anyone to inherit the blade. I didn't have any kids this wasn't an issue. If I did die, or just leave and never come back, my holdings would go to Jon Whitewolf and his children, assuming he ever had any.

"Look to the Heavens, will do fine" I decided.

I was far more interested in thinking about Tywin Lannister, and how much he must be pissed off. He'd lost his son and heir, since he'd never let the Imp inherit, the Lannisters also had lost the Hound and now the Mountain, removing their attack dogs from the field. Lancel Lannister was still the King's Squire, but since the evil bitch queen of death wasn't the queen anymore she might not order him to drug the king. However it would be best for him to die or vanish just to be sure. I had more blank cards I could always set him loose later somewhere far away.

My trail of thought came to an end when someone knocked on the door, a moment later Ned Stark entered to room.

"Gothic do you have a moment?" he asked.

As soon as I nodded Samwell made space for the Lord of Winterfell at the room's table, the one we were all sat around, by moving papers out of the way.

"This is a private matter" Ned said "but you two are sworn to the Baron's service so you should hear this too".

Now I was intrigued.

"A raven arrived from my old friend Howland Reed, the Lord of Greywatch" Ned told me "It concerns your desire to buy swamp land".

This was news arriving earlier than expected.

"Oh great" I said "How much does he want, or is he not going to sell?".

I didn't have an urgent need for black mana, I wasn't going to use it against the White Walkers since they had to be black/blue creatures and had necromancy powers, they might be able to take control of any black creature I brought into battle. Still it was important to use a balance of mana I used too much green and white.

"He refuses to sell you any land" Lord Stark told me "However he is willing to give you some".

There had to be a catch.

"As a dowry for his daughter if you marry her" I was then told.

Yeah that was a catch.

"Meera Reed is only a little younger than Robb and Jon" Ned was now telling me "and she's no southern lady, she's not... well she's not a virgin to be frank. Nor is she going to want to live in a castle, she's a hunter and a fighter".

Since I didn't intend to get married it didn't matter, and I was about to say that when I remembered who Meera Reed was, she was Jojen Reed's older sister. The sister of the boy who leads Bran to the three eyed raven. He was a warg, who had visions, and his sister was at least willing to consider marrying me. I had to find out more about greenseeing and warging, and this might be my way.

The ability started out as vivid dreams in which the warg sees and perceives the world through the senses of an animal. Over time and with practice, a warg can enter the mind of an animal at will. A warg's human body will become comatose when his consciousness leaves it to enter the mind of an animal, and his eyes will glaze over white, until his consciousness returns to his own body.

Warging is a separate ability from Greensight, the psychic ability to perceive future and past events in dreams. However, some people who are wargs can also possess greensight.

Wargs cannot easily enter the minds of other humans to control their actions, though few even attempt it, at least according the book the Archmaester of magic had given me.

Bran Stark, with no prior experience at warging, was able to enter the mind of another human, demonstrating his powerful innate abilities. However the human whose mind he entered, however Hodor, had been a mentally challenged man, so it might not work on regular people.

"She and her brother are going to Winterfell" the Hand of the King was now saying "She'll await you there, and should you marry in the old way, you can have lots of useless swap land for whatever reason you want them, and a wife whose likely to spend more time hunting that you will".

Well it would be better than marrying a southern lady, and I did want those swaps, but I suspected that the marriage offer was simply a justification to get a meeting with me, and to have an excuse to wait in Winterfell for my return. Perhaps they did desire an alliance between myself and Reed family, but they didn't need a marriage to get that.

"I can't go north anytime soon" I said to Lord Stark.

The noble man nodded in agreement.

"Aye I need you and Jon here" he stated "But there's no rush to return. I can send a letter to Lord Reed and to my wife. The Reed children can stay at Winterfell for a while. Reed's son can befriend Bran just as I befriended Howland, and Meera, well she'll keep herself busy I'm sure. I think Arya will take this chance to take Meera as mentor. They're rather alike from what I hear".

If they wanted to met as badly as I imagined then they wait for a whole year if they had too.

"Very well" I said "I'll met with this Meera when I go north".

Ned nodded again, before giving Jon and I a look that let us know he had something even more serious than marriage proposals to talk about.

"The King is insisting that I go hunting with him. If he hadn't made it an order I wouldn't request this of the three of you, but perhaps it best that I go as I have something to tell him" the Warden of the North was now saying "I need you three to guard Sansa in case anything happens while I'm away, with me away from King's Landing others may make trouble for us. Be prepared".

He must have figured out that the prince and princess were not Robert's brats.

"Ned" I said as the current Hand headed for the door "Make sure the king doesn't drink too much while hunting, and don't trust his squire".

Lord Stark gave me an odd look for a moment, and then nodded. I think he understood that what I'd told him was important, and that he didn't really need to know why.

What mattered to me was that events seemed taking place faster than I had expected. I needed to take of a few things myself before leaving this city. Hopefully I had time.


	20. GOT 10

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Game of Thrones 10**

 **Winterfell. The North.**

"State your reason for entry... Lady Stark!" The guard at the gate manged to say as Sansa lowered her hood. "Baron Gothic, and Jon Snow! What are you all doing here?".

I spoke for the group as the young lady couldn't speak, and Jon didn't seem to know what to say. Hardly surprising given what had happened and King's Landing, as well as our odd method of escape. As for Samwell, I worried that I'd broken him.

"There's no time to waste, we must speak with Lady Stark and Lord Robb at once" I said.

Which thankfully he did allow, and we raced off to the Great Hall. Within I saw Robb, who was sitting at the head table, face scrunched up in concentration as he read through documents of different kinds, trying to make sense of it all I guessed.

Maester Luwin stood nearby, patiently observing his Lord do his duties, while the Lady Catelyn rifled through papers of her own. Nearby, little Rickon was being entertained by both Shaggydog and Grey Wind, the two great beasts working together to keep the little boy distracted.

Bran and Summer were not here and I worried that the boy might have already gone North of the Wall. I'd have to check on him later.

Arya was no were around either, but that didn't worry me as she had no reason to leave Winterfell. Lord Stark had wisely not taken his younger daughter with him, he wouldn't have taken Sansa I was sure if not for the fact that she was suppose to have married the prince.

"Robb! Mother!" Sansa shouted out, before racing towards them as if her life depended on it.

Lady Catelyn Stark got over her shock more quickly than her son. She was at least able to attempt speaking. Not that she did very well.

Robb looked unsure of what he was supposed to do in this situation, other than get hugged by sister. After a while the young lord managed to extricate himself, and ask what was going on.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to sound like the lord he was "Why are you here?"

He then looked at Jon.

"Where's father?" he demanded to know.

That could take a while to explain. Things had happened so fast. The King and his Hand had gone hunting, and I'd popped out, having decided to deal with Lord Balish now rather than later.

Then when I'd returned to the the Tower of the Hand there had been Lannister men had been everywhere. Yelling stuff about the king having been murdered by the Hand, and that the prince had nearly been kidnapped.

Thankfully Jon had protected Sansa, and I'd take Samwell with me when going out so he was okay too. Jon had used his new sword well, killing a load of Lannister men.

"Robb.." Jon wasn't even sure where to start.

I did know.

"Lord Stark might be dead." I said simply. "Everyone else who went south is dead. We're the only ones that survived the slaughter. Jon and I grabbed Sansa, we fled I'm not ashamed to say.

It didn't take long for someone to react.

"WHAT!?" Robb's shocked exclamation echoed in the Great Hall.

No one spoke for a few moments as Jon and I shared a glance, debating which of us would tell the full tale.

"That's impossible!" Robb argued instantly. "We've received no such word from King's Landing, and you can't have arrived here before the ravens".

Normally that would be true.

"It only took us a few hours to get here." I said simply.

Sansa spoke for the first time since we'd fled.

"He made flying horses appear" she said.

I'd used white mana to create two pegasi, one to be ridden by two people, and we'd flown here. Not that I'd enjoyed it, due to my dislike of heights, I really needed to learn now to teleport. Plus riding pegasi was weird when you'd spent time with talking version of the mystical creatures.

"You.. what..." Robb stammered "How did you do that?"

I stifled a wince as I recalled that Robb had never seen my magic in action, nor even knew of its existence.

"How do you think Bran was miraculously healed?" I asked him.

It didn't take him long to start sussing things out.

"That was you?" Robb asked. "You..."

Lady Stark put a hand on her son's shoulder.

"Its true Robb" his mother said "The Baron healed Bran, he's a warlock of some kind".

That was actually insulting. I was no mere dabbler.

"Take Rickon to his room" Robb ordered "He's too young to hear such things".

It seemed as the young lord was ready to take charge.

"Of course, Lord Robb." Maester Luwin said and led the boy out.

Then Lord Stark, the new one if his father was indeed dead, ordered me to tell him everything. And I told them what happened; everything but Jon's knighthood as that was only distract from what was important.

"It was the Lannisters, and that scumbag Baelish was in on too I'll bet" I finished by saying.

Littlefinger had been very surprised to see me, at least for a moment, then he'd been all charm and smiles. I'd dump him off somewhere nasty when I had the time. For now he could stay in the card I'd tricked him into.

"Baelish." Catelyn said, shaking her head. "Why would you suspect Petyr?".

That was hard to answer without insulting her.

"He's become quite the player in the game" I told Lady Stark "I warned Lord Stark not to trust him. He sucks up to the Lannisters, but I doubt he's loyal to them".

Heck I warned Lord Stark never to go south, but no one listened to me.

"So do you want my help?" I asked bluntly. "I'll help you against the Lannisters, but if you don't want a magic user around I understand it might hinder you when you gather your army".

People could be funny around magic. Even the northerners, who were not as fanatical about their faith as those that worshipped the Seven, could fear my powers.

"Hinder us?" Robb repeated as if he didn't understand the words. "You healed Bran. You saw that justice was served to those who attacked him. You and Jon saved Sansa".

Robb paused to let all of that sink in. I noticed Bran and Ayra, who must have come in because they heard shouting, were giving me unreadable looks. Bran's opinion mattered more to me as he'd been told magic didn't exist by the Maester, who'd been lying to protect me, and now people were taking about me being a mage. It must be confusing, and he was meant to the new three eyed raven, he needed to believe in magic.

"You have done nothing but good towards my family, Gothic" the young lord was now saying "Please stay and aid us".

My spirits lifted, and I smiled. It was nice to be accepted for who I really was.

"Now I'm going to call the banners" Robb told everyone "The Lannisters came into our home and nearly killed Bran. Now they've taken over King's Landing after killing our rightful ruler. They might have father alive, if so we're going to save him, and if he's dead we'll avenge him. We're going to war".

I was oddly thrilled by the idea.

(Line Break)

 **Winterfell. The North.**

The news of my capabilities travelled all over the North like wildfire in the weeks that followed. Apparently Robb had decided that telling everyone he had a powerful wizard on his side was a good idea. I'd never asked him to keep it silent so it was partly my own fault.

Lord after Lord answered Robb's call to arms, proudly displaying their banners as they were welcomed by the Starks. The Karstark Sunburst. The Manderly Merman. The Glover Fist. The Mormont Bear. The Cerwyn Battle-Axe. The Bolton Flayed-Man. The Hornwood Moose. The Umber Chains. And many others were now displayed along with the Stark Direwolf. Even the sigil of House Gothic was displayed on one wall. The shooting star and castle on black looked rather good.

As I admired the banners, the Greatjon, or Jon Umber, the Lord of the Last Hearth, head of his house, came over to me. He was a large man, easily over six feet tall, heavily muscled, he needed them to carry that monstrous sword that was slung over his shoulder. He'd fit right in fighting bandits in Skyrim I imagined

"Lord Jon Umber" I said "Greetings my lord".

He gave me a nod.

"And you're the famous mage" he relied "The Baron"

I didn't respond immediately as I was wondering if he was going to yell 'burn the witch' some time soon

"Yes" I finally said.

He smiled.

"Heard it was you who healed young Brandon Stark and it was you who made the first Varlyian steel sword in hundreds of year" he said "and that you can make magic armour and weapons".

I wondered where all this was going.

"Yes." I repeated, though I didn't elaborate on the subject.

The big man actually looked bashful.

"Could you make me a great sword" he requested

I took out a card called Greatsword, it gave a +3 to attack and then I called upon my power and the card transformed into a big sword. It wasn't as stylish as some I'd made but it looked very well made.

"Bloody hell" he said "How'd you do that?".

For once I decided to tell the truth.

"I drew power from the land all around us, and shaped into that sword using my powers" I explained "The card you saw was a template for the sword".

Then I passed the sword to Lord Umber.

"Its not Varlyian steel" I told him "but it will make you even more fearsome in battle. Consider it a gift from House Gothic to House Umber".

The man took the sword and spent some time admiring it.

"Are you heading to the Great Hall, as well?" I then asked.

"Aye." The Greatjon replied as we passed through the courtyard and made our way into the Hall "Lord Robb is assembling a war council."

The Great Hall was as large as ever, though its table layout had changed slightly to accommodate the war council. Three Long tables were arranged in a broken triangle, with each Lord taking his seat with no order of importance.

Jon was standing by the side. Robb had invited him personally to this meeting, but he did not take a seat next to Robb, likely due to to looks from Catelyn. I guessed even saving her daughter's life still wasn't enough. But he was a knight now and therefore a noble, even if was of low rank, she couldn't simply order him out of Winterfell.

"Ah, you're here." Robb said taking notice of our presence, as the other lords turned to look at us.

Most of them focused on the Greatjon for a few moments, before switching their attention to me. They stared in fascination for a few moments, before Robb cleared his throat and motioned for us to take our seats. We both complied, though I took a moment to turn to Jon.

"Ser Jon." I said, motioning to the empty spot next to me "You can sit here"

A few silent moments passed, before Jon nodded and assumed his seat. Lady Catelyn looked scandalised. The remainder of the Lords looked on disapprovingly, but were distracted from that when Robb, began speaking.

"My Lord Father is dead or imprisoned somewhere" he said bluntly. "And the Lannisters have taken control of King's Landing"

Then there was a lot of noise, as each Lord yelled in shock, dismay, and disbelief.

"The King, Robert Baratheon, has also been slain." Robb added, once he could be heard "It was orchestrated by none other than the former Queen, Cersei of House Lannister, the same woman who had my younger brother, Brandon, pushed off a tower to hide her infidelity and incest".

Her infidelity was a moot point, at least in my view, as King Robert had fucked loads of women while married, but a person was judged by their own sins, not by sins of others. However just because Robert was not loyal did absolve the former queen of her own sins. Not that this mattered much anyway as she'd ordered her brother to kill Bran. Compared to that cheating on her husband wasn't such a big deal, although fucking her twin brother was a sign of how messed up she was.

"Anything else we should know?" Lord Bolton enquired.

Robb turned to him, and answered.

"During your journeys to Winterfell, my lords, we received a few ravens from King's Landing, as well as other locations, and the contents are...

He paused for a few moments, and I didn't think it was for dramatic effect. I figured he actually had trouble finding the right words.

"The missive from King's Landing stated that Cersei's son, Joffrey, has been installed as the King." Robb said gravely "We've also been told that King Robert died during a hunting accident, which my lord father is being blamed for".

While accidents did happen, somehow I couldn't see Ned Stark just standing around while his friend got killed.

"We heard more recently that a letter was found in the King's Chambers, declaring that Cersei was to pardoned" Robb informed.

There was even more bad news, and highly unlikely as King Robert wasn't a man to change his mind once he'd decided on something. At least not easily.

"In the Red Keep it is now being loudly proclaimed as truth that my late father was a traitor to the realm who tried to murder King, staging an accident, in an attempt to usurp the throne" Robb told everyone.

Now, that got a response.

"Ned Stark, a traitor, an oath-breaker?" The Greatjon boomed, his voice easily drowning out all other noise "The North will become a great, bleeding desert before that day comes".

A chorus of "Ayes" were heard, echoing in the large hall.

"Another set of letters came in, from Highgarden, as well as Storm's End." Robb continued "Apparently, Lord Renly Baratheon has laid a claim on the Crown, stating that the children of Cersei are not of Baratheon descent and are in fact the Kingslayers's children. Which makes them bastards. He's already allied himself with the Tyrells of the Reach, and intends to crown himself as King".

Again, the room broke out in an uproar, though much more subdued than before, the various Lords having realised that this wasn't just Robb' revenge. The Kingdoms were fracturing themselves. Someone even yelled something hard to hear about lions and incest.

"What about Stannis? He is the elder." Lady Catelyn asked "If Cersi's children are her brothers, then Stannis is next in line".

A few among the gathered people nodded in agreement.

"Aye, I agree." Robb said. "By the laws of succession, and, if Renly's claims are true, then Stannis Baratheon should become the King of Westeros. But, there's more".

When it rains it pours.

"It came in this morning." Robb said, eyeing the message for a few seconds. "From Lord Stannis Baratheon of Dragonstone. Like his brother, Lord Renly, Lord Stannis claims that Cersei Lannister's children are not of his family. Lord Stannis Baratheon has also staked a claim on the Iron Throne, proclaiming himself to be the King".

This was a total fustercluck in the making.

"Three Kings, then?" Lord Boltan summarised "Renly Baratheon with the might of the Reach and the Stormlands. Stannis Baratheon with his large fleet of ships and the vassals of Dragonstone. And Joffrey Baratheon with the backing of the Westerlands and control of King's Landing. All three claiming to be the King of the Seven Kingdoms".

And more kings to come.

"Aye, Lord Bolton." Robb said. "That is correct."

No one spoke for a while so I did.

"The Lannisters are the real enemy" I told the lords "They've proven to have no honour, and given what happened here at Winterfell I believe that Joffrey is the Kingslayers's son. Also I've heard that Joffery is a cruel boy, very spoilt by his mother. The Tarygans married brother to sister and we all know how that ended. In madness".

There were a few grunts of agreement.

"That leaves Renly Baratheon, or Stannis Baratheon, as possible allies" Robb said, taking control of the conversation " But, who to pick? By laws of succession, Stannis should be the King. But, then again, by laws of succession, the Mad King's children should have been the heirs to the throne. Renly has the backing of two kingdoms, one of which sells grains and livestock to the other realms. Including the North, food we'll need come winter".

There were some murmurs at that.

"That leaves us no closer to knowing who to ally ourselves with." an older northern lord stated.

Robb nodded.

"I was getting to that." he said "Now my aunt controls the Vale, my grandfather rules the Riverlands. With us that makes three allied kingdoms, who can also ally with the Stormlands, and the Reach against the Westerlands. Stannis has the fleet, but no real army, or the means to support them. He's not as well as Renly who I am sure would ally with us".

Lady Catelyn spoke next.

"My sister, the Lady Lysa, has not sent a single letter from the Eyrie" she said.

Which was a lie, as she had sent a letter with a warning, perhaps Lady Stark was just omitting that fact to protect her sister.

"Moreover, my uncle, Ser Brynden Tully, has sent me a message telling me that Lady Lysa refuses to leave the Eyrie, and has closed the Vale's borders to any outside influence. I believe she does not wish to participate in the war to come, despite the death of Lord Jon Arryn, another suspicious death linked to the former Queen Cersei"

Murmurs rose once more at that declaration. If only she knew it was her own sister who had killed Jon Arryn.

"That still leaves the Riverlands" another lord sad.

Robb smiled, and I was sure he had good news.

"Lord Hoster Tully has agreed to join forces with us. Likely, because the Lannister army is already moving. In the past wars between the Seven Kingdoms have cause the decimation of the Riverlands; he wishes to prevent this I'm sure".

A cheer broke out at that declaration,

"But, that still leaves us in the same predicament as before." Lord Bolton was now saying "The way I see it, there are really only two choices: the first choice is to follow the laws of succession and join our forces with those of Stannis Baratheon, who has little in the way of fighting men; the second choice is to discard the laws of succession and join with Renly Baratheon, focusing your forces on destroying the Lannisters and placing a true Baratheon on the throne. However the brother we don't side with will declare us as their enemy".

I felt a bit of admiration creep into me. Despite his family's habit of flaying people, this was a man with a brain, and he knew how to use it.

They all turned to Robb, who had his eyes closed in deep contemplation.

"Lannisters tried to murder my brother, they might have killed my father too" Robb said in a deceptive calmness, though his eyes were furious. "I will not allow any of their brood to sit on the Iron Throne. I mean to see them dead. My father will be avenged, my brother will be avenged. Who will aid in me in this!"

That drew a cheer, and when it calmed down we got back to business.

"And, the Baratheon Kings?" Roose Bolton asked softly.

It was still a good question.

"Here's what I think of these two Kings!" The Greatjon boomed, before spitting to the side, garnering a laugh from those attending the war council.

Lord Bolton frowned, but said nothing in return.

"I will not alienate the Baratheon brothers, just yet." Robb decided after thinking some "We will claim neutrality until we are forced to chose. First we much march south and aid my grandfather and uncle in saving the Riverlands, which are at great risk. Once we have joined with our allies, then we will strike together at whoever stands between us and King's Landing".

The logistics of this war would prove a nightmare, which was why Maester Luwin, as well some other Maesters who had accompanied the invited Lords, soon joined us, helping everyone figure out what the expenses would be in terms of food, equipment, mounts, and supplies. Which roads needed to be maintained, where to raise more levies and where to find more men.

I found it all interesting and intended to learn as much about warfare as I could. Perhaps one day I'd be leading armies and conquering kingdoms.

(Line Break)

 **Smithy. Wintefell.**

The lords of the north had seemed leery of my magic, at first. Then people had started getting gifts and they found a way to rationalise their new respect towards me.

I'd told Lord Umber that my power came from the land, he'd informed others that the sword I'd made him came from the magic of nature, he'd misunderstood and was now going around telling people he had a sword made from magic and that I'd been taught by the Children of the Forest.

Who did work metal according to the legends, but he didn't let a little thing like facts get in the way of making his new sword seem more awesome.

Most people in the north knew the Children of the Forest existed, or had existed, and that they were magical beings. They also believed giants lived north of the wall. So having a magic user around wasn't as worrying to them as it would have been to people down south.

So I was now spending my time at the Smithy, taking apart artefact's for the raw materials needed to enchant existing weapons and armour. I didn't want to offend any lords and knights, of which there were a few in the north, by giving them a magical item another VIP already had

Robb had given me ten Winterfell guards to be placed under Jon's command as my personal guard. I intended to make them the most dangerous warriors in the world by enchanting everything they wore in battle which was time consuming.

At least things were a little easier since I'd taken the time to revisit Stormwind. I'd gotten Samwell skills in Engineering and Enchanting so that he could at least assist me in my work. Also Jon had picked up some extra fighting skills. Sam too only he didn't use a sword he was better with a mace, it he could hit things if he had to.

Samwell had accepted magic more easily than I would have imagined. Seeing Stormwind had made him very happy, and to suddenly gain a magical skill also pleased him. He wasn't having much with the enchanting, as he wasn't a mage, but he was good at Engineering. He could handle some of the enchanting work for me, such as sorting out the materials, and taking notes of which lord requested what.

"Your weapons and armour will serve us well" Robb was saying to me as I studied an enchantment recipe.

He had to understand that I was not making immortal warriors. Magic weapons and amour would help the lords, as the other higher ranking warriors, but that didn't mean the artifacts would do the work for them.

"That doesn't mean that the men wearing them are invincible" I warned "Don't let the knights and lords get overconfident".

Thankfully he sometimes listened to advice.

"Too true." Robb agreed. "A spear to the face or through the neck would ignore the armour altogether. But, do not make light of what you've given us. The lords of the north don't have much compared to southern lords. We're always looked down upon, now we have magical weapons, its giving them a boost to their pride".

Hopefully they wouldn't get too prideful.

"And you've solved our third biggest problem" the young lord was now saying "the first and second being managing our food stores while on the march, and the second is not having enough men, but at least we have the funding required to keep campaigning".

The loot that Aegon the Conquerer had left behind, combined with my ability to conjure bags of money, had greatly eased the burden this war would be on Winterfell's treasury.

"If we make it through this war." Robb said "I will give you anything you want. A castle, more land, whatever it is you wish"

Well it would be nice to have somewhere to call home even when I went back to travelling.

"When we win this war, you mean" I heard Jon say.

He was no help with the enchanting, so Ser Whitewolf was keeping himself busy with training and blacksmithing.

"Aye, that's the spirit, lad!" The Greatjon boomed, having overheard our conversation.

Ever since I'd made him a sword from magic, he'd come interested in seeing more of what I could do. Aside from Robb he was the lord who trusted me most. An ally on the war council.

"I'm not too worried about rewards" I said "We can worry about that sort of thing after the war".

Lord Robb and Greatjon Umber took that as a hint to let me go back to work. And it was important work, but there was also something else I needed to do before marching south.

Also I needed to talk to Meera at some point, we still hadn't sorted an alliance out between House Gothic and House Reed.

(Line Break)

 **Gods Eye. Isle of Faces.**

Three Children of the Forest met us the second time Jon and I went to visits the Greenseer. I was visiting because I needed to get north quickly as I wanted to kill a few white walkers before the army went south. My reasoning behind this was about buying time to finish up the war as well to weaken the enemy.

"Leaf!" I said in fake surprise "Fancy meeting you here".

Of course I wasn't at all shocked to see her. What did strike me as odd was that she seemed to have gotten fat.

"Are you pregnant?" I asked her.

I didn't even know they had gender, they all looked like little girls in my opinion.

"Yes" Leaf told me "I'm first of my kind to have a baby since the Others were created".

I figured making the Walkers must have had a price. Magic sometimes did.

"Who's the daddy?" I asked.

Leaf tilted her head while looking at me.

"What's a daddy" she asked.

That had been a poor choice of words.

"I mean which man got you pregnant" I said.

This seemed to amuse Leaf.

"You" she then said.

I didn't know how to react to that. Jon just laughed.

"We don't breed like humans do" she explained "But you made this possible by making us stronger. Snowylocks is my mate if that's what you mean by daddy".

Okay that was less freaky. This pregnancy was a reaction to me bringing the magic back. I was a fertility drug for pint sized druids.

"Where are the rest of you?" Jon asked.

That was an awkward question.

"Gone down into the earth" Leaf told him "Into the stones, into the trees. Before the First Men came all this land that you call Westeros was home to us, yet even in those days we were few. The gods gave us long lives but not great numbers, least we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. That was in the dawn of days, when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The giants are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great lions of the western hills have been slain, the unicorns are all but gone, the mammoths down to a few hundred. The direwolves will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us".

That was sad. I felt sad.

"Yet there is hope we will linger for a while longer now" Leaf then added as she patted her stomach.

That was when the subject was changed.

"Lord Bloodraven caught a glimpse of your path," Leaf told me as she led me in the tree passageway thingy "he saw many branches both favourable and terrible. We came to help ensure your success".

That was nice of them. I'd praise them for it if not for the fact that this was their mess I was trying to clean up.

"Your help shall surely be welcome" I said diplomatically.

They may have fucked up the world, but there was no sense being mean about it.

"Do not expect direct aid of this nature in future, World Walker," Leaf warned.

They didn't have the numbers to take risks like this, so I understood.

"And what are your names?" I asked of the other two Children.

Leaf introduced them as Twig and Branch before falling silent again. I had to shake my head at the silliness of those names. She'd just made them up on the spot I knew it.

Soon we arrived in the Three Eyed Raven's cave.

"Just a few things" I said "How many Walkers are there and why do they take Craisters sons?".

This time Jon followed me into the greenseers cave, thankfully he didn't ask any questions of his own.

"13 and the Night King himself" I was informed.

That was actually good to hear. 14 White Walkers I could handle, if I took on their forces piece meal.

"Craster is Aemon Targaryen's bastard. Aemon fell for a wildling's charms once" I was told "Craster is blood of the dragon as are his sons".

That was not an answer I'd be expecting. Although it would explain the incest. The Targaryen's seemed to enjoy impregnating their relatives. As for Maester Aemon, well that did explain why he didn't judge Samwell for Gilly, or Jon for that red headed wilding. And he hadn't always been old.

"Not of all his sons survived being transformed, some died in the cold before one of the Others could get to him" I was now being told "and their are a few being trained by the Night King, ready to replace any Walker who falls, but should the Night King destroyed they will be no threat".

Suddenly the White Walkers were becoming a far less imposing enemy. Really it was their army of the dead that worried me and they could burned, or banish with the use of the right card.

"What plan have you devised to kill one of the Others?" the greener asked me.

I showed him Winter's Bane.

"Jon and I both have Valyerian steel swords" I said "and we have plenty of dragonglass. As for the wights I can use my magic to counter them".

The greenseer nodded slight.

"Suitable," he said as much to himself as to me "I have told you that your magic makes me feel stronger "you will find something similar with the Others, your magic has strengthened them as well".

Jon knew were were White Walker hunting, so he didn't ask about either. If he had questions he was smart enough to keep them to himself for now.

(Line Break)

 **North of the Wall.**

"There is a small group of wights less than half a mile east of here they are led by one of the Others" Leaf informed not long after we left Bloodraven's cave "They are coming this way".

I had objected to taking a pregnant person anywhere near the White Walkers, but as it turned out Leaf was the only one of the Children who knew how to talk to us. And I didn't mean that they didn't know our language as that wouldn't be an issue for me I had auto-translate, they didn't know how to make words with their mouths. Which was super weird as they could sing. So Leaf had to come along.

Along the way they'd sang, not using words, it was something else. It was good music, listening to it made me feeler warmer. Plus Leaf had recovered Dark Sister for me, the Children didn't work metal, because apparently it didn't sing to them. Our swords did however, they sang of fire and blood.

We waited silently, as the wind and snow swirled around us. There was no blizzard however, yet it got colder. I was grateful for the wolf fur cloak Sana had made for me and Jon as way of saying 'thanks for saving my life'.

"We can combat their control of the wind and snow" Leaf told me "but we have little means of fighting the dead and the Others".

I assumed that meant they didn't have many of those grenades they used in the show. I would have asked about that only a wight crested the nearby hill. Even in the distance its blue eyes glowed brightly.

One quickly became ten and ten became what seemed like a hundred within seconds. They started pouring down the hill, slipping almost effortlessly along the slick, snowy slope. Some of the walking corpses showed no outward signs of damage, at least at this distance, while others had rotted so they were little more than skeletons.

"You told us they were a small group" I reminded Leaf.

She smiled at me.

"This is a small group" she said "Less than 500".

How many walking corpses did they have?!

The wights were fast as well, they quickly closed the distance between themselves and us. That was when I used Angel of Glory's Rise, not a very powerful creature considering how much White Mana I had to use up, but it had a special effect of exiling all zombies. I had no idea where they went, what mattered was that they weren't here.

Everyone knew the second a White Walker arrived, it somehow got colder and I was really, really, really glad of the fur I was wearing. Then I saw the creature its skin was a pale bluish white, and its eyes far brighter than those of their wights. The White Walker opened its mouths and screamed something very alien. Then two more Walkers appeared. They weren't riding dead horses at least, although they were armed and wore some kind of armour.

"You said 1 Walker, one" I chided Leaf before turning to Jon "Use your sword I'll even the odds".

I took out Dark Sister and handed it to Angel of Glory's Rise. Who being a summoned creature wasn't effected by the cold, nor was she scared of the White Walkers.

"Use this" I ordered.

She took the sword.

"Justice isn't done until undeath is undone" was all the creature could say.

It was now one Walker per magic sword, and soon the fight started.

I used my fire spell on a Walker, but that only slowed it down. What did more damage was the Children's grenade thing. Due to dumb luck that attack knocked the Walker on its ass. And I ran forward so I could drive my sword into monster before it could recover.

My attack missed, and the point of blade entered its shoulder and dug into its frozen skin, rather than its chest, drawing an angry growl from the White Walker. Yet it didn't explode or anything.

To make matters worse, the Walker kicked me away from it, and by the time I got up it was ready to kill me.

Thanks to Jon's training I was able to block a blow with my sword, and I immediately regretted the action as the Walker was super strong. Pain raced up my arm, but I ignored it as best I could.

Next I jumped back to avoid the following strike, and a moment later my sword was inside the Walkers chest, without me even thinking about doing that. Jon had trained me very well.

That move did make it explode it bits of ice. They were stronger than I had expected, but still vulnerable if struck it a vital area.

Looking around I saw that Jon had defeated his foe yet despite the enchanted armour, and other items, he carried and his fancy sword, he had been wounded. Thankfully the Children were already tending to him

Things went less well for the Angel I'd summoned that creature was impaled on a spear of ice, something that I'd seen happen to a summon of mine before. I so had to stop using White Mana creatures.

"Ah fuck" I muttered as the Walker targeted me.

That was when Plan B came into effect. I took out a blank card and threw in the Walkers path. My plan worked, the Walker picked up the card and got pulled inside it.

"Ha ha sucker" I cheered.

I went over and picked up the card, White Walkers were blue/black creature with the ability to raise creatures they killed as zombies. They were also immune to everything other than red mana. Valyrian swords were red mana weapons, dragon glass must also be. Made sense since given their connection to dragon's fire.

After healing Jon, with a spell using green mana gathered by tapping woods I owned. We quickly set off back for Bloodraven's cave, which was a good idea as those wights might not have been banished very far.

"Why were there three Walkers?" I asked Leaf "You told us there was only one".

She soon answered me.

"The Night King can greensee as well" she said "In his own way, he must have foreseen this battle and sent more Walkers, they hid themselves to bait us into a trap".

I'd foolishly underestimated the White Walkers, they were far more cunning and dangerous than I'd thought. I would not make than mistake again.


	21. GOT 11

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 11**

 **The Kingsroad. The North.**

A whole month after calling the banners, our march began. There were tearful goodbyes all around. Arya tried to sneak into the army by dressing as a boy and wearing a helm, only to be apprehended by her mother. Poor girl.

She'd been jealous of Bran, who had gotten to come with us, I didn't know how that boy he'd convinced his older brother to let him come along, but he'd managed it just as we'd planned.

Already I'd married Meera Reed to cement an alliance between House Gothic and House Reed. I'd found the idea to be silly, but Jojen Reed, the kid who could see visions of the future, had insisted. He'd refused to explain much, just that it mattered greatly to the world.

I had a horrible feeling he wanted me to knock me his sister so she'd have a wizard baby or something like that. Being a Planeswalker wasn't genetic, but being a magic user could be. However I didn't even know if I could have children, I'd worry about it if she actually got up the duff.

Assuming I even stuck around that long. Events were progressing faster than I had expected. I'd already dealt a blow to the White Walkers and the War of Five Kings was starting, more or less. If Robb buggered this up I wasn't sure what I'd do next. I wanted to save the world as I was invested in it, but that didn't have to include putting things right here in Westeros.

Perhaps it would be better focus on the Walkers and the Lord of Light, and then let the humans slaughter each other without concern. Maybe, for now I'd see how my plans progressed.

The current plan was for Jojen and Meera to take Bran to the Isle of Faces, so he could met the Children and then the Three Eyed Raven, without having to got north of The Wall. It was much safer to get to Bloodraven's cave that way.

As expected, the trip was slow-going and dull. I figured, in a single day, we covered about twenty miles. Which was impressive considering most men were on foot and there were heavy waggons as well. Sadly Winterfell was hundreds of miles north of Riverrun, so it was going to take a while to get there.

More men seemed to join our march as every day that passed. Thousands of levies from the many villages, and towns in the North joined as we moved south. Hundreds of men-at-arms , who actually had training, as well as a dozen of Hedge Knights.

Sadly those Knights had been grabbed up by the other lords before I could offer them service so I still only had a handful of men at my command via Jon. No doubt sellswords would offer their services later, but I wouldn't trust them. Hedge Knights were little better really, but they wanted to impress the lords so they could take long term service in a nice warm castle, so they would behave themselves somewhat.

Morale was high. The sight of Robb, with the sword I'd reforged from Dark Sister seemed to inspire the men. It also helped that he had fancy new armour. He looked like a hero.

And then, there was me. The man with magic given to him by the old gods. I found it odd how people quickly accepted magic when they felt it came from something holy.

The only ones among the army that seemed leery of my presence were the Manderlys. House Manderly of White Harbor was a noble family in the north whose seat was New Castle in the city of White Harbor. Unlike most other northern houses the Manderlys follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the old gods

Though, they didn't say anything on the matter to my face. Behind my back, I knew there would be some uneasy muttering, but nothing overly concerning. I figured that if I kept a 'stay away from me and I'll stay away from you' attitude, those that followed the Seven wouldn't make any move against me when the followers the old gods all around me thought I was as close to divine as they believed someone could be. Neutrality was better than outright hostility at least. Still I'd be on my guard and keep Jon close.

The men who kept to the old gods were surprisingly accepting of me, or perhaps it wasn't so surprising as the legends behind their religion revolved around the Children of the Forest, the Others, Giants, and the like. All magical creatures capable of doing things beyond the understanding of mortal men.

"So how's married life treating you" Ser Jon Whitewolf, the man formally known as Jon Snow, asked as our horses trotted down the path.

The wedding had thankfully been a short affair. Basically a hand-fastening in front of a Weirwood tree, then a vow. Given that there was Weirwood tree in Winterfell Bran should have been able to use that one to get to Bloodraven, but that didn't work because I couldn't get the tree to open. I suspected it might have something to do with the pact between the First Men and Children. Silly given that the world was at stake, sadly stupidity has never been a human only trait.

I was grateful northerners didn't go in for silly ceremony of bedding, when the newly married lord and lady get dragged to a room to have sex. I'd have destroyed part of Winterfell if anyone had tried.

"Well enough" I replied "Meera isn't a typical lady".

Which was partly why I'd agreed to the marriage, she was no lady prone to swooning. She had her own life, I had mine and so far we seemed happy letting each other get on with things. Plus by marrying her no one else would try to force a wife on me.

Jojen and Bran concerned me more, they had the potential to be powerful mages. Bran was still getting his head around things, but for Jojen magic was a fact. His people had been taught some nature magic by the Children of the Forests, that was how they'd basically become swamp ninjas. They knew the land like no human ever could.

"How was the wedding night" Jon then asked "I mean... did you...".

That seemed an odd question at first then I remembered that the young knight had no experience with sex and romance. He wasn't requesting details, he just wanted to some idea of what to expect. He had a name now, he could marry, and should as if I didn't have any brats I'd leave all my holdings to Jon.

"We both knew what we were doing" I told Ser Jon Whitewolf "It was a little bit awkward at first, but we got there. I stuck her with the pointy end".

This was when Greyjoy rode past. I was already planning his death. Only I was pretty certain that if his father heard that his last son had died he'd get pissy and attack the north. So keeping Greyjoy here with us seemed wise.

"So she wasn't pure then" he remarked "I hope the dowry was enough to make for getting a slut who looks like a boy".

Lucky for Theon I was too mature to punch him in the face over name calling. Although it was tempting.

"Well at least I've never had to pay a woman to have sex with me" I replied "But don't worry I'm sure you'll find some company with the camp followers. I'll even treat you to a girl if you like".

Camp followers were people who followed an army around to support it. They washed clothes, made sure there was food, and whores joined as well to pry their trade.

"I don't need coin from the likes of you" Greyjoy stated before riding off.

He hadn't gone far before someone else spoke.

"So do you know what do with a girl?" Samwell enquired "My father and I never had that talk".

I rubbed my eyes.

"Once we've set up camp I'll explain about the birds and the bees" I promise.

I was fine talking about sex, but this wasn't the time.

"Hold on we know all about birds and bees" Jon protested "We want to know about girls".

I face palmed.

(Line Break)

 **Moat Cailin. The North.**

Moat Cailin was a ruined collection of towers located on the Neck. Being part of the North made it subject to the rule of House Stark, but it had not been permanently manned for centuries. Because of that, it was not the residence of any lord. But it could be.

It was however the lynchpin of the defence of the North from any invasion from the south. It was an ancient stronghold of the First Men. Alas it had been degraded by time and only three towers still stood. The towers are arranged in mutually defencive positions, suggesting a heightened tactical awareness of the builders. Not primitives had built this castle.

Moat Cailin was said to have been built well over ten thousand years ago by the Children of the Forest, though the accuracy of this is unclear given that they didn't have metal tools and liked to live in woods

Due to the swampy lands of the Neck, some of which I now owned giving me access to black mana, and because the fortress was next to the Kings Road, any large body of men would have to pass by fortress to enter the North.

Thanks to the placement of the three surviving towers and the lack firm ground to deploy siege equipment to the south, a few hundred archers with sufficient ammunition could hold off a much larger army for some time from Moat Cailin.

Moat Cailin was also one of the reasons why the First Men were able to successfully resist the Andals' attempts to invade the North as they did the rest of Westeros to the south.

Also according to myth, the Children attempted to use Moat Cailin to hold back the invading First Men and, when that failed due to the humans' superior numbers, they attempted to shatter the Neck and completely separate the North from the South in the same manner they shattered the Arm of Dorne centuries earlier.

The Children failed and only succeeded in flooding it, creating bogs and swamps. However, the cataclysm proved the strength of their power and may have proved instrumental in bringing the First Men to agree to the terms of the Pact that ended hostilities between the two races.

"A few hundred archers can hold the whole of the Neck against an invading army." Robb said, repeating what I'd been told earlier, while we looked over his maps in a room he'd commandeered.

We were in one of the still standing towers. Which hadn't been used since Robert's Rebellion nearly two decades ago.

"The swamplands and bog will be impossible to cross with an army, and the crannogmen under Lord Howland Reed will ensure that any lucky survivors of the swamps meet a quick end" the young lord went on to say.

A few of the other Northern Lords were also present, as well as Theon, Jon and I.

"Our scouts have indicated that the forces from the Westerlands have begun their assault." Roose Bolton spoke softly, while pointing at a few bits of the map. "Already, the villages around the Mummer's Ford have been sacked, their smallfolk butchered, the women... raped. They sought refuge in their timber holdfast, but the Lannister men burned them out".

A few looks of uneasy horror flitted onto the occupant's faces; likely they'd prefer to be killed by a sword than to be burned to death. I agreed. As for the raping, no honourable north man would accept that.

"Events of a similar nature transpired at the Stone Mill" Lord Bolton added, tracing his fingers along the map. "Pinkmaiden was also quickly overwhelmed, and the men were forced to retreat to Riverrun".

This would have already happened weeks back if the Mountain was around I was sure.

"Their goal is Riverrun?" Lord Karstark said, studying the map as well.

That made sense to me. Riverrun belonged to House Tully, whose Lord was Robb's mother's father. Attacking the Riverlands was attacking half of Robb's family. The lions wanted the wolves here because they didn't want to march all the way to Winterfell in order to win this war.

"Perhaps." Robb allowed. "Our count of the Lannister men is around thirty thousand in the Riverlands. I doubt that they would all be deployed to sack Riverrun"

He then pointed at Harrenhal

"I would bet my new sword that Lord Twyin Lannister has split his army into two, one portion to besiege Riverrun, and the other to take Castle Harrenhal" the young lord said "As his grandson now rules from King's Landing it must be defended".

There wasn't much between Harrenhal and King's Landing other than a road. Nothing that would block an army at least. There were a few villages and even a couple of towns, but they wouldn't have strong walls.

"Harrenhal." The Greatjon agreed without hesitation "Aye the old lion has already taken it I agree. Would take dragons to bring it down. Like they did before".

People then looked at me. They seen make things out of magic, and I'd told them I could summon creatures.

"No dragons here, but Ser Jon Whitewolf and myself" I said, using my friend's title to remind everyone that he had it "Stopped at Harrenhal on our way south the last time. Its practically a ruin. On the inside its walls are crumbling, its drafty, and a bit unstable. Seiging it might not be as difficult as you imagine. And I can bring down walls if you want to me to".

A few summoned creatures would make short of it. I decided not to mention that it was haunted as adding the fact that I could see ghosts to the fact that I was a really powerful wizard would just make people think I was even more weird.

I could summon a dragon, but I felt it unwise to let anyone know exactly how powerful I was or to let the locals become too dependant on me. That was why I would only display my true power if it meant the difference between victory or defeat.

"Then when the time comes I'll leave that task to you, Baron." Robb decided "For now we must focus on aiding Lord Tully and whichever of his vassals survived the initial Lannister invasion of the Riverlands, before even considering an attack on Harrenhal."

The Lords gathered nodded in approval.

"Once the archers left at Moat Cailin are settled in, we march for the Twins and we'll try to join their power to ours." Robb told everyone.

He got some him looks.

"I would not be so sure on that, my Lord" I said, since no one else seemed willing to "Lord Frey is not trustworthy, or reliable".

To say the least.

"The Late Lord Frey." one of them joked and a short laugh was shared by the rulers of the north.

I then got back to topic at hand.

"Lord Fray will most likely keep his men in reserve, before finally joining with the winning side to curry favour" I said with conviction "He will betray you in a heartbeat if he think he can gain from it".

Best to kill the man. The other Frays might be more reasonable.

"Truly?" Robb asked, sounding surprised "He's my grandfather's banner man".

If the young lord had come to King's Landing he'd understand.

"Some men take their oaths more seriously than others, my Lord" I said "If the Lannisters make him a good deal he'll take it".

Robb looked very concerned,

"Do you think he would betray us to the Lannisters, Baron?" Lord Glover asked gravely.

The nobles here called me baron, perhaps it was the novelty of the title, or maybe they didn't like calling me lord as that would make their equal. I was still a strange outsider after all.

"I do" I said simply "But only if he's sure we won't beat them. Until then he'll try to stay as neutral as possible".

Thankfully some people around here seemed to heed my advice. Hopefully Lord Stark would as well.

"Regardless." Robb said as he shook his head. "There is no other way across the river, beside the Twins".

I was already considering other options. Perhaps in my ever changing deck, were cards appeared and disappeared, to better let me make use of the Mana I had in my Mox Diamonds, there would be a bridge artifacts. Although that might not solve the problem as House Frey became wealthy due to their bridge if I put up a new one they might attack it to protect their interests.

"Why not just take it?" Jon asked curiously "The Crossing I mean".

If it wasn't filled with people I'd just destroy it. I was willing to kill to achieve my goals, but the Crossing (the bridge and two forts on either side of river) was filled not just with Freys and soldiers, but also women, children, as well as old men.

"Easier said than done." Lord Bolton said "The Twins consist of two identical stone castles standing on each side of the river. To take them, you would have to coordinate an assault from both sides, as the defenders of one castle can quickly rush to the other. And, since we're only on one side..."

There was a pause as Lord Bolton let the young knight figure out the rest for himself.

"No chance in breaching through the gates" Jon concluded.

Well I might be able to do that.

"It would be a slaughter for both sides." Lord Bolton "Even if we used Baron Gothic's magic to break in we'd face a slaughter. Battles within the walls of castles are nothing short of brutal. We would likely lose as many men as those in the Twins would".

The gathered Lords began to murmur uneasily, and I wondered why Roose Bolton was so causal when talking about magic.

"I am not prepared to make that sort of sacrifice." Robb said, while shaking his head. "I will attempt to reason with Lord Frey to gain his allegiance. But if I am refused entry or if the toll he exacts is too high, I shall consider other options".

Not that we had any other options. At least not good ones,

(Line Break)

 **Moat Cailin. The North.**

I felt kind of bad about distracting Robb and Jon so that Bran could sneak off with the Reed siblings, but Bran needed to go learn from the three eyed Raven, and Robb had a war to win. A missing brother would be a concern, but no less worrying than if Sansa had been captive at the Red Keep.

"Why did you want me to see Baron?" Lord Robb wished to know.

I'd brought him to where a tower had once stood. And I had special card prepared.

"Robb you mentioned giving me what I wanted in exchange for your support" I reminded "Well I've decided I want this place. It's close to the Neck, where House Reed rules and I'm allied with that family"

The young lord was surprised.

"Its a ruin, Gothic" he said "Only used in times of war".

That was when I used the card Command Tower, and made a tower appear where there had only been rubble before. Everyone stared for a while, not quiet understanding how I could do magic on this scale. Enchanted items were one thing, this was something else.

"Could you make more towers as we travel" Robb asked, once he recovered his senses "That would aid us greatly".

Even now he had no idea what I could create, what I could do if I was willing to kill everything in my way.

"I can make whole castles" I said truthfully "but I want this place because of where it is".

Robb didn't need to think about it.

"Then its yours my friend" he said "Somehow I don't think you'll have any problems fixing it up".

No I wouldn't.

"Can you make a bridge, my friend?" Lord Robb wondered.

I shook my head.

"Sorry, my lord" I said "Even my power has limits".

Or at least the cards did.

(Line Break)

 **The Crossing. The Riverlands.**

The Twins looked exactly as they did on the show. And things went as I expected. We were met by a knight, a son of Lord Frey, the Heir to the Crossing, as well as three of his brothers. He looked like a weasel of a man, they all did.

"My Lord father has sent me to greet you, and enquire as to who leads this mighty host." the ugly man said.

I did wonder why sometimes people sounded more like they live action role playing at being medieval while others spoke more normally. Had to be a manners thing.

"I do." Robb stepped forward on his horse, Grey Wind by his side.

It was tempting to tune all this as it was boring, I was also tempted to bully my way through. Maybe summon something scary enough to make them let us past, but if Robb wanted an alliance then threatening Lord Frey would be unwise.

I also recalled that in the books and show, Robb betrays the Frey's first by marrying for love rather than for the sake of alliance. So things might work out as long as Robb didn't act too selfishly and looked as if he was winning.

"My Lord Father would be host honoured if you would share meat and mead with him in the castle, and explain your purpose here." the rider said.

No one wanted Robb to go.

"My Lord, Ser Jon and I would be happy to speak with Lord Frey" I lied.

Now I was thinking that a small display of my power might convince the old Frey git that my allegiance was worth having. He craved respect and power, and money too. I could give something worth more than Lannister promises.

"I am certain my Lord Father would be pleased to speak to the Baron Gothic" the Frey said" To vouchsafe for our good intentions, my brother, Ser Perwyn, will remain here until the Baron is safely returned to you".

Apparently word of me had spread far and wide.

"He shall be our honoured guest." Robb said as the hostage dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to one of his brothers "The Baron and Ser Jon will be return to us before Nightfall"

The threat only needed to be implied.

"As you say, my Lord" the Frey said.

(Line Break)

 **Army Camp. The Riverlands.**

It hadn't taken long to sort Lord Frey out, a nice gift, a little showing off, and the greedy foul old man had more than willing to let Lord Robb go south. He had insisted on a marriage so now Jon was engaged, which made him sulk, but it was for his brother. And that red headed Wildling he loved in the show and books was north of the Wall so hopefully he wouldn't betray that promise. He was too honourable, like his father.

Besides I'd make it up to him. I'd take to another new world, somewhere simple, maybe a conjure him up a new warhorse. I'd discovered that summoned creatures stuck around as long as they were close to the card they came from. And I could let someone else have a card. I didn't know if it would be replaced, but it might be worth giving up one if it made Jon less grumpy.

Not long after crossing we'd met the lions in battle. Less than twenty thousand Northerners faced off against about three thousand foes. We'd sent them packing. Not actually killing that many, most had run when I'd summoned up a few creatures after tapping a lot the lands I controlled.

Also we'd captured someone very important.

"Let him be." I said, and the guard gave me a fearful look no doubt thinking I was going to curse him "He's your prisoner he should be treated with respect".

I approached the cage.

"The Baron of Canterlot. I'm honoured." Lord Tyrion Lannister said from inside his small cage

He looked like a mess, though he seemed to retain his good humour despite everything.

"And Ser WhiteWolf, as well?" he asked, looking at Jon, who was guarding me "Truly a great day for one as lowly as I".

He then looked at Samwell Tarly, who despite training with Jon and spending time on the road hadn't lost much weight. Still I valued him as made my life easier by running choices and advising me on local matters I didn't know much about.

"You're a Tully" was all he had to say about Samwell.

I then got on with things.

"Hello, Lord Tyrion. I trust they're giving you enough to eat and drink?" I asked.

I disliked seeing one my favourite characters being treated like this. The Imp was perhaps the only Lannister I didn't want dead, well the only adult one.

"Perhaps enough to eat, but to drink alas no" Tyrion grumbled.

I turned to the guard.

"I'm taking the Imp into my custody" I told him "Don't worry I'll return him shortly".

The guard didn't argue and before long I was sitting with the dwarf inside my over sized tent drinking wine. Tyrion quickly took his seat and began to drink. I figured he was an acholhic even if he didn't act like one.

"I haven't had wine since..." he said.

My guess was that his father had given him command of a few thousand men and had sent him die. His forces had been meant to slow us down while inflicting some loses. Otherwise there would have been a lot more of them.

This seemed odd for a clever man like Lord Twyin, perhaps losing his son had unhinged somewhat. That or he'd been forced to spread his army about. If Dorne threaten him too that would explain it.

"This war..." Tyrion started to say.

I interrupted him.

"This war needs to end as quickly as possible" I said "Now I don't blame you for whatever it was that happened to Ned Stark, but I do blame your family".

The Imp looked only at his wine cup.

"Baron Gothic" a messenger shouted from outside the tent "Lord Stark summons you to his command tent".

I quickly considered what to do. I had wanted to discuss with the dwarf ways to end this war quickly. He had vein of decency inside him that I hoped to exploit. But he could wait.

"Stay here" I ordered the Imp "Samwell will guard you, he's a smart fellow I'm sure you'll find things to talk about. He likes books too. And if you try to escape Ghost will eat you".

The direwolf growled, and Jon ordered the beast to watch the little loin.

"I'll be back to talk to you again soon" I told the Imp "I'll come back with some more wine and food too".

Hopefully drink would loosen his tongue.

(Line Break)

"Jon has been informing me of events of a more... magical nature." Robb said once we entered his tent "North of the Wall, as well as the priests of this Red God".

This time there were no other lords here, it was just us three men. That he'd mentioned the priests who served the Lord of Light was no surprise. I'd spoken out against them, telling people about human sacrifices.

Also I was sure that Jon had told his father at least some of what I could do, and most likely he was reporting to his brother as well. Oddly I didn't mind.

"Yes." I said. "That is the true war waiting for us. North of the Wall, but not right now. I've brought you time. Time to put a better king on the throne, and Tyrion in Casterly Rock".

The Imp has a silver of goodness in him, and he had the right name.

"And, what makes you think I would agree to have Tyrion be the Lord of Casterly Rock?" Robb asked.

Simple reasons.

"The fact that I'm going to be the reason you take Casterly Rock in the first place." I answered "And because he has a legitimate claim. He's Twyin's only living son, and you can't hold Casterly Rock. You don't have the men to keep the Westerlands under your control, and you can't hold any of the south really. We need to put Renly or Stannis on the Iron Throne, crush the Lannisters and get back North in time to prepare for a White Walker attack. I can help you do that, but I can't do it for you".

It could be simple, or it could be really buggered up.

"Fair enough." Robb said "although I don't know if my men will accept it".

I considered that

"Just say that it's your idea and I'll pretend like it's the best thing I've ever heard in my life. That should do the trick" I said.

Robb looked uncomfortable at the thought.

"They're coming!" I heard

There were a few more shouts in the distance, and we left Robb's tent in a hurry.

"Lord Stark!" called out one of the men as he approached us. "The Mallisters are coming".

House Mallister of Seagard is one of the most prominent noble houses from the Riverlands. If they joined their swords to ours it would a great boon.

"That was why I actually called you here" Robb told Jon and I "Let's go great our guests.

The Mallisters had rode out in force, bearing a flag of truce as Thousands of men, led by their Lord. He had brown hair mixed with white underneath, a chiseled face, and fierce, blue-grey eyes.

"Lord Jason Mallister" one of the Mallister men announced.

"Lord Mallister." Robb greeted once he was close enough.

During Greyjoy's Rebellion, Lord Jason Mallister slew Rodrik Greyjoy, one of the Theon's older brothers. Which explain why Theon hadn't been called to Robb's tent.

"Lord Stark." Lord Mallister greeted jovially. "I see the Freys have allowed you to cross their bridge quickly. I was not expecting you so soon."

Robb gestured at me.

"My friend, and adviser Baron Gothic was able to suitable impress Lord Frey. We were able to cross without much trouble" Lord Stark said.

And with only one engagement demanded. Walder Frey hadn't suggested it until he'd heard Jon was my Master at Arms, who his brother was, and that I was already married. Clearly he wanted a tie to House Gothic and House Stark, only Robb was already married, and I'd told Lord Frey that since we didn't know if Ned Stark was dead or not Robb couldn't approve any marriages for his siblings.

"Did he now" the Riverrun lord said.

He dismounted and moved over to me, completely ignoring everyone other myself and Jon.

"Ser Jon Whitewolf" Lord Mallister said with a grin. "I was there during the King's Tourney. I watched you bring down the Mountain with my own eyes. It is an honour to shake the hand of a man such as yourself."

He extended his hand, and Jon took it.

"I saw you unhorses Ser Aron Santagar" the White Wolf praised "You're fearsome on a horse, my lord".

Lord Mallister looked torn between wanting to ask a few more questions, and going back to do his duty.

"Yes." Lord Mallister said, keeping his blue eyes on me for a few moments "And you're the one they call Baron Gothic".

Indeed I was.

"Yes my lord" I replied.

Andals didn't like magic users as a rule. I knew this would be a problem, but there wasn't much I could other than prove myself an ally.

"Let's go into my tent" Robb said "I'll have my lords gather and we can plan how drive these invaders out of the Riverlands".

Lord Maillister agreed to this and followed us into the tent.

(Line Break)

 **The Red Keep. King's Landing.**

The queen felt no shame for taking her son's place at this meeting. Cersei sat at the head of the table. She wore crimson robes and a golden tiara on her head which melted into her golden locks beautifully she thought. Around her sat the lords of the council, on her right was her pet Grandmaester Orwall, who had replaced the last Grandmaester after he vanished during a trip the Citadel. It hadn't taken the queen long to bring this old man under her control. Orwall was in the typical robes of his order, his maester's chain hung loosely around his neck and he sat hunched over the chair.

To her left the spider, Varys. His hands and cheeks were their usual powdered shade and the faint scent of lavender emanated from him and his Myrish silk robe. Beside him was Janos Slynt, the commander of the gold cloaks. Last of all there was Ser Barristan Selmy who led the Kingsguard. If her brother had still been alive Cersei would have removed Selmy from the Kingsguard, but he would remain for now until the queen found someone more suited for the role.

Littlefinger had also vanished. The queen suspected that he betrayed the crown, and had gone off to join one of the false kings. Should he return he would killed on sight.

Now the meeting could begin, Cersei addressed them in her most regal manner, her back straight and chest thrust forward.

"What do you have to report?" she asked them.

The eunuch spoke first.

"My little birds have word from across the Narrow Sea, Your Grace" he said.

Cersei raised an eyebrow at that.

"Across the sea?" she asked the Master-of-Whispers.

Events far away across the Narrow Sea, didn't seem important right now, yet she would hear about it anyway as it might matter later.

"The Targaryen childeren. It seems the Beggar King has finally been crowned." answered Varys. "The Dothraki have had him crowned using molten gold. He's quite dead".

Cersei smiled at that, she may not have loved Robert Baratheon, but she shared his hatred of the Targaryens.

"Good," she said, "One less threat for us to deal with."

Though Varys seemed less convinced,

"There is still the late Viserys' sister, Daenerys" he warned.

Cersei scoffed at that

"A girl on the otherside of the world is the least of our problems. What else?" she asked.

There was more news form the Spider.

"Stannis Baratheon has landed in the Crownlands" the bald man reported "Renly marches towards him with the strength of Highgarden behind him".

The council members sat in silence, each glancing from one to the other.

"What do we know of Stannis's ambitions." she barked at the eunuch.

Varys placed his powdered hands on the table as he spoke.

"His ambitions still stand as they were, Your Grace. Lord Stannis wants the Iron Throne" he said.

Stannis never had a love for either Robert or Renly, only his loyalty had kept him in check. Now Robert was gone.

"Stannis must come to the capital," she said at last, "He must bend the knee before Joffery, before he can become Lord of the Stormlands".

The other members of this group looked at each other oddly as what the queen had just said seemed strange. It was as if she didn't understand the reality of things.

"Given the circumstances, Your Grace, it would be better if we focused only on the immediate threats" said Janos Slynt "Let the usurpers battle each other while we tend to the kingdom".

Everyone else was grateful that the subject had been changed.

"Problems such as?" asked the queen.

Janos Slynt looked uncomfortable.

"Like the fact that the smallfolk are ready to eat each other" the commander of the gold cloaks said.

Cersei didn't care about that.

"That is none of our concern" she stated "Renly Baratheon is marching from Highgarden. With all his strength behind him." she said.

There wasn't much anyone could do about that.

"What have you done with our defences?" she barked

Janos Slynt spoke again.

"I have one thousand men under my personal command" he told the queen and I recruiting more "I have asked the city smiths to fashion us with us pieces of armour and as many weapons as they can produce. I have men placed permanently at every gate. I'm going to have a group of my men sent round every tavern and brothel in the city every night and gather all the drunks and force them into the gold cloaks as punishment. The garrison will get priority for food, that should encourage more people to join. All of the smallfolk that are fighting fit that come through the city gates will be conscripted into the defence."

That seemed please the queen.

"And if Robb Stark marches here?" the Lord Commander of the King's Guard wondered.

The queen was not concerned. However the Spider was. He'd heard troubling news from the North about a certain Baron. Also a Red Woman had tried to enter the Keep, claiming to serve the Lord of Light, and offering support to the king. He'd made sure she was run out of the city.

"Stark cannot march on King's Landing without taking Harrenhal first, which my father holds" Ceresi said "My Uncle Kevan gathers and trains more levies at the Rock. Stannis and his brother will fight each other while we secure King's Landing"

The Master of Whispers spoke next.

"My little birds tell me that Robb Stark has allied himself with a Wizard, who is supplying the Northerners with magic weapons" he said.

The queen gave a short laugh.

"Silly rumours" she said "There's no such thing as magic".

Even thought the new Grandmaester agreed, this didn't sooth the concerns of the others, but no one argued and the meeting dragged on.


	22. GOT 12

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 12**

 **The Riverlands. Seven Kingdoms.**

The march to Riverrun took at least three times longer than the one from the Twins to Seagard, but Lord Robb had insisted that his men get the required amount of rest, in order to keep their mind as sharp as their blades, and their bodies as strong as their armour.

Along the way we got come good news concerning Ser Brynden Tully, Robb's great-uncle, better known as the Blackfish. He had been harrying the Lannister supply lines as best he could with the small amount of men he had at his command. Two hundred, at most, compared to Lannisters' thirty thousand. They had relied on guerrilla tactics, such as ambushing their enemies while they were sleeping, killing Lannister scouts to limit their information, and attacking supply waggons.

After every ambush, the men would carry away as much in the way of supplies as they could, and set fire to whatever remained. It was a good plan, and so far they had met with great success. Their scouts reported more and more that Lannister men starting to mutiny, or simply flee, all those caught were killed for their actions, which stirred up even more discontent in the ranks.

Another bit of news was that Robb's prediction turned out to be true; Tywin Lannister had split his army, moving half of his sixty thousand of it to Harrenhal, while the remaining half besieged Riverrun, and set the rest of the Riverlands on fire.

Their army was divided, and while they were aware of the forces marching towards them they wouldn't know much about our fighting style since we'd crushed them in the one battle we'd fought. The Blackfish had done a lot of work, in that regard, having his archers kill any ravens he saw heading to and from the Lannister camps.

Alas it wasn't all good news. Tywin had done a lot of damage to the Riverlands in a short amount of time. And he was starting to dig in. He hadn't marched north to sack Winterfell because of the distances involved and because it kept his supply lines a lot shorter than ours.

Plus he wasn't too far from King's Landings, he could pull back and ready that city for a siege while still leaving a token force behind here to slow us down.

"Riverrun is a few hours march away." Robb addressed his lords when Jon and I joined him in the main tent. "Ser Brynden's news has given us an opportunity. The Lannister armies are divided and their morale has taken grave hits due to a lack of supplies, and there is dissent within their ranks. Now is the time to strike".

Hopefully we weren't being too cocky. The Lannister army outnumbered the northern host nearly three to one. Not counting any troops we could gather here in the Riverlands. Some of which had already joined us.

"Aye." The Greatjon said, excitement in his voice. "Lord Stark is right. Now's the time to teach these southern cunts what happens when you attack the North!"

He then looked at Ser Tully or other, who was a southerner.

"Begging your pardon Ser" he said.

The Blackfish ignored the comment.

"It sounds too good to be true" Lord Glover objected. "How can we be sure they are not aware of our intentions?".

That was a good question.

"No bird has reached them; my archers have seen to that" The Blackfish promised "They are scattered around the castle in three separate camps, trying to besiege Riverrun".

Which meant they might not be expecting an attack. Also if a full half of the Lannister army was here that would put ten thousand men in each of the three camps.

"The Lannisters have more men." Lord Glover warned.

I was gathering blue mana, and had land to tap. I could use some spells to even the odds. If I tapped everything, used every bit of mana, and found the right cards in my deck I could make a small army of my own. But not enough to make a real difference, unless they were used very wisely.

"Trust in our men" Robb said with a confident smile. "And with the Baron's aid, we will be unbeatable on the battlefield".

Here, a few men nodded, they'd seen some of what I could do. And the followers of the old gods still thought I was semi-divine or something like that.

"But, more importantly, we're fighting for something than gold, and riches. We fight to save my Lord Grandfather. We fight to rid the Riverlands and the North of Lannisters" Robb was saying.

He wasn't too bad at inspiring speeches.

"Aye!" The Lords all replied.

Robb went on.

"We fight for something more than a useless iron chair in King's Landing." Robb said as slammed the table with his fist "We fight so that men of the North shall never be slaughtered in the South! We fight for my father, Lord Eddard Stark, to either free or avenge him. They shall face our swords and know the fury of the North and the Riverlands! Winter is coming!"

A loud roar met his words as all the lords cheered.

"Then, let us go forth." Robb said, looking to his Lords. "Gather the men. Today, we free my Grandfather!"

The tent burst into a flurry of motion as the assembled Lords exited, barking out orders left and right, leaving Robb, Jon, and I in the tent.

"Jon, Gothic." Robb turned to his 'brother' and I. "Are you ready?"

Jon nodded, and suddenly hugged his brother.

"As ready as I'll ever be" he said.

People were really getting pumped about this. I hoped it didn't get us all killed.

(Line Break)

 **The Riverlands. Riverrun**

The boy was now dead, all for nothing. The Lord of Casterly Rock could not help but shake his head at the situation. Young Robb Stark had led twenty-thousand Northmen down south, all eager for revenge after Lord Eddard's disappearance. They blamed King Joffrey for it, and for King Robert's death.

That was something that Tywin still could not believe; King Joffrey. The boy on the Iron Throne had started a war with the North, and now Eddard Stark's eldest son and heir was dead.

Tywin had wanted to wait longer before going to war, he'd wanted to gather more allies, more men, more resources. Now he was at war with most of the Seven Kingdoms.

Ceresi had not been stable since her brother's death. It had made her act to rashly. She should have waited until Tywin was ready to make this move.

 _Utter madness_ , he thought. _What have you done my daughter?_

He still found it hard to understand why Robb Stark had marched with only a few hundred men and why he marched too far ahead of the rest of his army. It was complete stupidity.

"The boy is eager for glory," Lord Tywin's brother had said during a meeting with the other lords and knights only a few days ago "He may enjoy playing at war, but he will run as soon as he has to fight a real battle".

Well that hadn't happened the boy hadn't run. Ten minutes before the fight had ended Lord Tywin himself had thrust his sword into Robb Stark's torso, killing him outright, and the remaining Northmen had soon shared their young leader's fate. Not one of them had run, so it taken a lot of his forces to kill them.

Tywin shook his head as he rode amongst the dead. Nearly three hundred of his soldiers had been killed, and it would have been more if not for the archers. Oddly very few had been wounded.

The lord then noticed that his brother, Ser Kevan, as well as one of his young nephews were close by. Martyn and his elder twin brother Willem were both squires, and they were Kevan's sons. Martyn was given the honour of being Tywin's squire.

The sun was now shining in the sky, with the field of the battle now being more visible to everyone. The sight of the carnage made many men feel sick.

"Shame we couldn't take the boy alive" Ser Keven commented when his brother joined him and his nephews.

There was no judgement in his voice.

"The boy refused to surrender," Twyin answered. "He drew his steel and did not back down".

Which was odd because they would have ransomed the boy, a lord was worth much.

"And so now Lord Eddard has lost his heir," Ser Keven said. "I do hope Lady Catelyn is feeling proud of son".

As they spoke Twyin looked around the field. They were surrounded on all sides by high hills, with the field they were in quite low as if they were at the bottom of a bowl. Twyin could not help but think of how easy it would be to annihilate his army if they were all positioned here. Thankfully Lord Tywin had sent five-thousand men to ride north to harry any Northmen they encountered, leaving five thousand men here.

He was well protected, yet the old loin knew something was wrong. The battle shouldn't have involved slaughtering every enemy that came upon them. And the men were odd too, they weren't dressed like Northerners. Now that the sun was higher in the sky he could see things more clearly.

That was Robb Stark lying dead, but the men with him were not Stark men.

"Wait, where is the wolf?" Tywin asked.

There was no Direwolf with Robb Stark, that was another oddity.

"What wolf?" Keven asked him back.

Tywin was now becoming concerned. Something was very wrong here.

"Where is the boy's direwolf?" he asked again.

Ser Keven raised an eyebrow before responding.

"I don't recall any wolf" he said.

Twyin thought that suspicious, but he could not understand why. As he was thinking about it he looked back down at the bodies. These were not northern men, the armour was wrong, the weapons too.

"How could I have been so blind?" Twyin asked himself "We must leave, now".

It was a trick of some kind, these dead men were not normal, none had tried to run or beg for their lives. They'd thought to the last, and had killed more than twice their number despite being surrounded, and having arrows raining on them.

"Tywin?" Kevan asked uncertainly.

He soon answered.

"We have walked into a trap," was all he said.

Almost as soon as the words had left Tywin's mouth the trap was sprung. Soon three arrows, fired by Riverrun men under the command of the Blackfish, hit his brother's horse, one of them punching through Keven's right calf. The Old Lion cried out in shock as his brother's horse fell to the ground with barely a sound. The other two arrows had struck it in the right side of the neck and head.

"Oh fuck me," Twyin said.

That the Lord of Casterly Rock had just sworn like this was a clear sign of just how bad things really were. What didn't help was that he'd just been thrown from his horse. The steed had panicked.

"For Karhold!"

"For White Harbour!"

"For Bear Island!"

"For Last Hearth!"

"For Cerwyn!"

"For Hornwood!"

"For the Dreadfort!"

"For Deepwood Motte!"

"For Torrhen's Square!"

"For Moat Calin!"

Many more battle cries went up all around them, until they were all silenced by the howl of a wolf. Not a wolf, but a direwolf, Twyin thought just before the next battle cry was sounded.

"FOR WINTERFELL!"

And soon the true battle began.

The Northmen charged from atop the hills as a volley of arrows rained down on the Westermen. Twyin ran to grab the nearest shield and lift it up to protect him, just as several arrows landed around him. He heard his squire cry out and turned to see that an arrow had hit him in the right shoulder. Several more men were also brought down by the arrows.

When the arrows had all fallen Tywin dropped the heavy iron shield he had used and looked around him. He could not see much given right now, but he could hear the screams of men as they fought and died. Every now and then he was able to see people he knew fighting the Northmen, including some of his cousins.

One cousin, a man who Tywin couldn't recall the name of right now faced a huge northern lord. The man's height and sigil meant that this was the infamous Greatjon Umber, and Tywin felt his heart sink as the two warriors engaged in battle, already knowing the outcome, for the Umbers of Last Hearth were known for their ferocity in battle against the wildlings from beyond the Wall. After fighting for a few moments the Greatjon got the upper hand and sliced Twyin's cousin in two with the kind of strength the Mountain had been famous for.

After watching the cousin fall Tywin began to look for his horse, or any horse. As he moved he felt the air part by his ear as an arrow flew past.

Then he saw that his nephew Willem had dropped to his knees and was weeping as he clutched his wounded father. Yet Twyin did not let the sight break him. Although that became harder when the boy's sadness turned to rage, and he tried to fight.

"HEAR ME ROAR!" the boy bellowed the words of House Lannister as loud as he could with his childlike voice before running towards the real Robb Stark, with his sword raised.

When the boy was only a yard away Lord Robb's direwolf lunged at the boy, knocking the sword out of his hand and tackling him to the ground. The beast bared its teeth and looked ready to start having breakfast.

"Grey Wind!" Robb called out, and the direwolf looked up at his master before wandering away.

Willem, or was it his brother, Twyin wasn't sure, was then seized by a couple of Stark men and hauled to his feet. Tywin looked up at Robb Stark as he approached him with his bloody sword pointing at him. Knowing better than to fight an opponent who had him trapped.

"Will you surrender to me Lord Lannister, or shall I claim your life this day?" Robb asked, his voice loud and clear.

Tywin held up his hands up in surrender.

"I yield," he said quietly.

Robb nodded at him.

"You may have won here boy," Tywin said with barely contained venom. "But my grandson will destroy you for this treason".

Tywin did nothing as he a felt a pair of hands lift him up to his feet before his own hands were bound with rope.

"Somehow I doubt Joffrey will do that, especially once word of your defeat and capture has spread," Robb Stark stated as several Northmen wandered over to them.

(Line Break)

The Riverlands. The Seven Kingdoms.

He was still shocked by what he had managed to achieve. In all the weeks since his father's arrest Robb did not once think that he would ever succeed in taking Tywin Lannister prisoner. But he had done it. They had lost a lot of men in the battle, but they had won.

He had sent an army of conjured men, led by a creature, posing as himself to lure the Old Lion into his trap. All of which had been created by magic. Some of his lords had been against such a plan, including the followers of the new gods who distrusted magic, but others had approved, such as Lord Umber and Lord Roose Bolton.

Robb looked over his shoulder and saw a cart being pulled by a pair of horses; on the back of that cart with his hands bound, was Kevan Lannister himself, with a smug looking Edmure Tully riding alongside the cart. It was the Blackfish's arrow that had struck Ser Kevan Lannister through his calf, punching through the leg and into his horse, although it was the two arrows loosed off by other archers that killed the horse. Ser Kevan, if he lived as also a prisoner of value.

The battle had gone to plan. Robb's goal had been to capture Tywin and his brother Ser Kevan, and he'd done that. He'd broken the enemy army in two battles by capturing their leaders.

Five thousand Lannister men had been sent north, no doubt thinking they could drive back a leaderless northern army. Yet they'd found twenty thousand men, some of which were armed with magical weapons, charging at them.

That battle, which had taken place just yesterday had been costly, as had this battle. But in the end Robb had captured four Lannisters, Tywin, Keven, and Kevan's two younger sons, the oldest being in King's Landing. As well as numerous knights and lesser lords of the Westerlands.

"Things go well" Baron Gothic asked as he joined the Lord of the North.

The mage summoned army had just been one of many pieces of magic the Baron had performed to aid the Northerners. Robb didn't regret giving his friend Moat Calin, and the lands around it as that was the source of the mage's power, which he'd used to summon many creatures. They were all dead now, but from what the young lord understand they hadn't been real, they'd only looked real. That had made it easier to send them to be slaughtered.

However there had been a price for this victory, aside from the men lost. The mage looked tired, drained even, and he'd admitted that he'd been unable to do any magic again for at least a week. Apparently mana, which came from the land, needed to be replenished.

The wizard hadn't just created a small army from nothing, he'd also brought into existence many creatures, wolves and other animals that fought beside the northern army.

"We have managed to capture several important prisoners," he spoke as he turned his horse around "We already hold the Imp prisoner, as well as Ser Kevan, and his sons, Willem and his twin Martyn".

That was all good news, but there was more to come.

"What about Lord Twyin?" Gothic asked him.

The lord of loins had been personally overseeing the siege of Riverrun, which was a bit odd as Robb and his advisers had expected him to be held up in Harrenhall. Lord Tywin must have been desperate to take the seat of House Tully.

"Him as well" the young lord said with a smile.

The mage was pleased by this news.

"Who else have we taken?" the Baron asked.

Robb smiled this time.

"Ser Amory Lorch" the young lord answered "You may not know him, but he helped the Mountain rape and murder the Mad Kings grandchildren and their mother. My lady wife will want to have him shipped off to Dorne".

It was still unknown if the Martells of Dorne were marching their army anywhere, but sending Lorch to them would certainly make House Martell feel a debt of gratitude towards House Stark.

"The only thing that could make this day better is hearing news of Bran" Robb remarked.

His brother Brandon Stark had gone scouting in the Neck with Meera and Jojen Reed. Robb hadn't wanted to let his brother go, but he'd felt that Bran would be safer in the swamps than on the battlefield, at least when the Reeds who knew those swamps like no other men could. Little did the young lord know that Bran was even now making his way to the Isle of Faces.

"The Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West and Shield of Lannisport, Tywin Lannister" Robb said the older man was brought before him and the Baron.

He didn't look much like a proud lion now.

"Lord Stark," Tywin spoke, his voice defiant despite his defeat.

It was tempting to kill the old loin here and now, but he resisted the urge. The man was too valuable as a captive to let die.

"Taking a grievance against my House is one thing, my lord," Robb stated "But sacking the Riverlands in retaliation is beyond dishonourable".

Attacking the Riverlands had been smarter than riding North. Twyin had wanted Robb Stark to march south so that they could fight here rather than on the way to Winterfell. Alas taking the Riverlands had not gone as smoothly as planned. Twyin had lacked his attack dogs and his son Jaime. Also he'd not planned to start the war so soon, yet Cersei had not wanted to wait any longer. She'd forced this.

"Do not speak to me of honour boy," Tywin replied. "Your father slandered the honour of my House when he spread lies and about my children. You murdered my son and disgraced my daughter!".

Robb hardened his eyes as he glared at Tywin.

"Burning and slaughtering the people of the Riverlands was madness Lannister," Robb retorted, raising his voice. "Ordering your men to murder those who cannot fight back is cowardly. Giving men leave to rape defenceless women and young girls is unforgivable. I promise you will pay for what you've done".

Tywin Lannister continued to glare at Robb, but after a few moments he looked away.

"You'll die for what you have done Lord Tywin," Robb added after a moment. "I promise you".

It wasn't totally a bluff, but the young lord couldn't kill the old loin just yet.

"Will you now boy?" Tywin stated. "We shall see. When the king hears of this..."

Rather than say another word to his prisoner, Robb turned his horse around and left. Several Stark guardsmen walked over to watch over their valuable prisoner while Robb and his companion rode away.

"So Tywin Lannister is beaten, his brother could be dead soon, the Imp is our prisoner as well along with Tywin's nephews, and the Kingslayer has been dead for a while" the Baron was saying "Do they have anyone left outside of Kingslanding?".

Greatjon who had joined the two other men spoke next, as more men moved to ride with Robb.

"I'd say that the Lannisters are well and truly fucked now" he said happily.

Hopefully this was the case.

"Well, we should get ourselves some ale down our throats I think," Theon said as he walked over to Robb's side with a mischievous grin.

For once the young lord didn't mind the idea of drinking with Greyjoy.

"I agree," Robb said.

Lord Stark and his allies entered the tent, which had been quickly set up by hard working camp followers, and sat around the table where the others had gathered. Theon had gotten several tankards out and was just starting to fill them up with ale. As he was pouring drinks other lords entered the tent, including Galbart Glover. Lord Karstark and Lord Bolton.

Theon sat down after making sure that everyone had a drink. Robb raised his drink, and the others did the same.

"To the men who gave their lives so we could capture the Old Lion" he said as he raised his tankard high. "And to a swift end to this conflict."

Those gathered in the tent raised their own tankards and then they all took a drink, aside from Lord Bolton who didn't actually consume the beverage.

Afterwards Robb sat down, and soon they started to discuss what to do next. Robb had already decided on what to do but he listened to what his lords had to say. Only when they remained silent did Robb speak.

"We now have two clear objectives my lords" he said "Riverrun and Harrenhall"

There was more, but I was having trouble hearing. I suddenly felt oh so very tired. And the drink wasn't helping so I quickly excused myself and headed for my tent.


	23. GOT 13

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 13**

 **Riverrun. The Riverlands.**

After the battle yesterday, when Tywin was captured, ten thousand men were sent out with orders to clear out the remaining enemy men, south east of Riverrun, with additional orders to track down and stop anyone attempting to flee. If they resisted, their lives were forfeit. If they relented, they would be sent to the Wall, a gesture I appreciated greatly since the Watch needed men.

I mentally berated myself as Jon, Samwell and I, crossed the drawbridge into the castle of Riverrun, finding a Tully man already waiting for us. I should have been inside, but after a few ales at the last meeting I'd fallen asleep. I'd also overslept this morning was mad at myself. There were things I needed to do I didn't have time for lying in.

Now I knew that I'd gone past my limits. I'd summoned too many creatures, tapped too much mana, I'd over reached myself I had to be more careful. Creating the small decoy army hadn't been too much trouble, white mana was easy to use, but then I'd tapped the green too so that the northerners could easily overrun the thousands of men Lord Tywin had sent to drive away what he'd thought to be a leaderless host.

My magically created wolves had helped greatly with that. The creatures were feared by the local humans. Plus there were scarier things that could be created with Green Mana. Making the enemy run away was better than killing them.

"My Lords" a man in Riverrun armour greeted.

Well only I was a lord, Samwell was a squire, and Jon was a knight, but I let that slide.

"What is it?" I asked.

More harshly than I should have.

"I—" he stammered, blushing in embarrassment. "I was told I should take you to the Great Hall, where Lord Robb is waiting".

Yet another bloody meeting.

"Very well." Jon said, having realised it was best not let me talk "Lead the way".

The man stammered some more.

"Of course" he manged to say once he was done stammering.

The trip there was fairly quick, though I had to endure the stares of shock, fear and admiration of the Tully men I passed by. I stifled the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose in irritation and grit my teeth through it all, until, eventually, we reached the Great Hall.

Robb already stood at the centre, with a few men sitting on the nearby tables.

"Gothic. Jon" He greeted us, ignoring Sam, who hung back.

Ghost trotted over to where Grey Wind currently sat. Ghost may have been the runt of the litter, but the two wolves were now equal in size as far as I could see.

"Take any seat you like" he invited.

We complied, and waited. Lord after Lord trickled in the room, as well as the Maester of this castle.

A few minutes later, with all the Lords finally gathered in the Great Hall. Lord Stark began to speak.

"My Lords." Robb smiled grimly. "Yesterday was a great victory for us! The majority of the Lannister army has been scattered to the winds. Their remnants to the south east are being dealt with as we speak."

A cheer came at his words, but died down quickly when he raised his hand.

"The remaining Westerland lords will likely consolidate their power at Harrenhal, it is likely where the Lord Tywin's closet supporters are located." Robb said. "Well the ones not in King's Landing".

With Tywin and Kevan now hostages that left Lancel Lannister, Kevan's oldest son, if that was his name, and Joffrey in charge. I was unsure how that worked with Joffrey sitting on the Iron Town. Tyrion should inherit since there was no way Robb would let Twyin free again, but it depended on what Joffrey wanted, or really what his mother wanted, as he could put someone else in charge of the Westerlands and its army.

"Onto the real reason I have called you all here." Robb said. "I have questioned many of the Lannister men we have captured, and what they've shared with us is troubling".

We'd been having easy so far, something

"Indeed?" One of the assembled Lords said. "An impending attack?".

From who? The army at Harrenhall couldn't even know what had happened here yet.

"No, this is information of a different nature." Robb shook his head, before pulling out a roll of parchment. "Ravens have been sent from King's Landing, stating to any and all that 'the rebel Stark has declared himself as the King in the North'. The letter goes on to say that any able bodied man should join the Westerlands' armies to quell this rebellion. It is signed by Joffrey Baratheon, himself, King of the Seven Kingdoms."

Absolute silence met his words.

"The King in the North?" The Greatjon repeated, sounding oddly thoughtful.

This was odd.

"Why?" Lord Bolton wondered "Surely he realises this only gives you more power, if he acknowledges you in this way, even if it is worded in a negative light?".

Soon I understood.

"I do not pretend to understand the boy's addled mind." Robb shook his head.

That was when I laughed and everyone looked at me.

"Its clever" I said "To clever for Joffrey".

Then I explained why I thought it so smart.

"They've done this so that neither Renly or Stannis will want to ally with you" I told everyone "If they think you've declared yourself King of North then its a rebellion against the throne no matter who sits on it. Stannis won't like that, Renly might accept it for now and try to win you over later, but if he allies with you now it will make the other kingdoms think they should try for independence too".

Everyone mulled over that for a while.

"What of the Baratheon Kings?" Lord Bolton said softly. "Where are they now?".

He was soon given some information.

"King Renly has the combined might of the Reach and Stormlands behind him, whereas King Stannis possesses the royal fleet, as well as the Houses pledged to Dragonstone" Robb informed the gathered Lords, not telling us anything we didn't already know "no responses to this letter were issued from either Baratheon brother".

Possibly they didn't believe it.

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything." Lord Karstark cut in. "News takes time. The ravens could simply have not reached us, yet".

That was also possible.

"Perhaps we should negotiate an alliance? Sue for peace with the Baratheons?" Lord someone or other suggested.

Glover I guessed. I really didn't know his name. There were too many supporting characters here.

The Greatjon laughed boisterously, quickly getting everyone's attention.

"Declared a King by our own enemies" he said happily "It reeks of their fear of the combined might of the Riverlands and the North!"

A few loud agreements met his words.

"Let the three Baratheon shits play at being Kings, while our own King has been in the field with us, this entire time! Our own enemies have already crowned him, so, why shouldn't we?" he asked.

Well Joffery wasn't a Baratheon, but in the heat of the moment that had been forgotten. This was understandable as the lord had drew his humongous great sword and was kneeling down, while holding it up towards Robb.

"The King in the North!" he yelled.

This was early than expected as well. Mind you we were on a winning streak.

"The Greatjon's words are true." The Blackfish said, while rising and addressing Robb. "But I do not believe you should be the King in the North."

Heated whispers and murmurs broke out.

"Because it is not only the North you've defended! We stand here, at Riverrun, the heart of the Riverlands, because of your pledge to protect the land of your Grandfather! A pledge you have honoured by smashing the Lannister army only hours past!" Blackfish continued, before drawing his sword and holding it up to Robb, taking his place by the Greatjon's side.

I had a feeling that I knew what he'd say next.

"The King in the North, and the Riverlands!" he yelled.

One by one, the gathered Lords and Ladies stood, proclaiming Robb King.

"The King of Winter!" "The King in the North and Riverlands!" They chanted, over and over.

My my, things were certainly getting interesting, weren't they?

(Line Break)

 **Riverrun. The Riverlands.**

"Gothic thank you for coming so soon" Robb said as I entered the room he was using as an office.

I gave a short bow.

"No trouble, Your Grace" I replied.

Robb smirked.

"Your Grace I'm not sure I like that" he said.

I offered some advice.

"You could always tell me people to call: Your Majesty" I suggested "It's how we address a king were I'm from, and it would make it seem less like you want the Iron Throne".

The king considered this.

"You know Jon suggested calling my Kingsguard, my Wolfguard" he said.

That sounded good to me.

"But that's not why I summoned you here" he said "I need you to take Harrenhal for me. Once you've regained your strength. Take it and its yours".

This was a shock.

"I don't want Harrenhal" I replied "Its cursed".

Robb scoffed.

"That's just a legend" he said.

It wasn't.

"No it really is cursed" I told him "Trust me I know these things. Its haunted too".

The king took a moment to process this.

"I'm going to offer Moat Calin to Jon so he can form a cadet branch of House Stark" he told me "That's why I wanted you to have Harrenhal".

Now I felt betrayed. Sure Jon should have his own House, one as closely connected to House Stark as the Karstarks were, but there were other places he could go. Plus he was knight sworn to my service he couldn't leave my service unless I let him. Well not unless I dishonoured him somehow.

"We already agreed I could have the Moat" I reminded the king "and I don't want Harrenhal even it wasn't cursed. I'm a magic user and the Andals don't like magic users".

The Faith of the Seven was not too unlike the Catholic Church, and the Andals had attempted genocide on the Children of the Forest because they had magic. They'd have no issue trying to kill me.

Granted the First Men had battled the Children too, but that was over control of the land, and they been able to make peace with the magical race, even adopting their faith.

"I can make a castle if you want Jon to have a stronghold of his own near Winterfell" I offered.

Not that I should have to offer it. I was starting to wonder if Robb was worrying about what I'd do after the war. He'd seen me make a small army, and might not believe that was the limit of my power. If so it might make sense to have me further away from Winterfell.

"Plus Harrenhal is a Riverlands castle" I pointed out "Its not yours to give away".

Turns out I was wrong about that.

"My Grandfather is dying" the king in the north told me "and my uncle has bent the knee to me, not that the Blackfish gave him much choice. I am ruler of the Riverlands as well. I want you to take Harrenhal, so it will keep these lands safe. No army could take a castle you rule, and I don't intend to let the Faith of the Seven have too much influence in my land".

Well they could if I wasn't there. I didn't intend to stay in Westeros for much long, however there were other ways to protect a castle. I cards for special Walls and such.

"I've seen you make a watchtower from nothing" Robb was now saying "If you wanted to you could destroy Harrenhal and build your own fort there".

Well that I could do. It was the castle that was haunted not the land. If I owned that land I could build a new castle something closer to the King's Road. I'd own the lake, or at least what was around it. Plenty of Blue Mana I was sure, and after using so much Green and White I needed to mix things up.

"Okay I will destroy Harrenhal, and raise a new castle closer to the Kingsroad" I said "As Your Grace commands".

The Moat put me closer to House Reed, however the land there only gave me more of what I already had. Plus if Robb was nervous about me taking over perhaps he'd worry less if I was far from Winterfell. Also Harrenhal was close to the Isle of Faces giving me quick access to Bloodraven.

"The castle's holdings are some of the richest in Westeros" Robb informed me "You'll have vast tracts of green fertile land and Harrentown".

That meant small folk under my protection. I'd have to delegate that duty, and perhaps Robb wanted some of the burden of ruling so many lifted off his shoulders. The lord of the Moat wouldn't have had that concern.

"Jon should go with you" the king was now saying "And I'll loan you two thousand men who will be led by Lord Mallister. That won't be enough to siege the castle even with the news from our scouts who report that the false king as ordered his grandfathers army to Kingslanding, but if it is empty you can garrison it".

Not that surprising. Renly was marching on the city from the Reach, although he was taking his sweet time doing it. As was his brother, who was somewhere in the Stormlands.

As for Harrenhall. If I legally owned the land I should easily be able to destroy. Perhaps I'd just fly over and drop a land card on it. Then put up a new castle closer to the Kingsroad.

That sounded like a plan to me.

(Line Break)

 **Harrenhal. The Riverlands.**

The trip to Harrenhal was both longer and rougher than expected. There were no roads to make our paths any easier, since the locals used boats mostly. The terrain was mostly flat so that was good.

We had a few Tully scouts lead us there, who worked well with the Reed scouts. The scouts went above and beyond their normal duty, and we managed to avoid a lot of rough terrain, which saved us a lot of time on the march.

We finally made it to Harrenhal in the late evening with my two thousand men. If the lions hadn't scampered back to Casterly Rock and King's Landings we would have faced 30 thousand foes. Even my magic might not help much against those odds. However we were not met by anyone.

"We've made sure none of them attempt to escape, Lord Gothic" Patrek Mallister called out "The scum are staying behind their walls".

He was the son of Lord Jason Mallister and heir to Seagard. He was good friends with Ser Edmure Tully. Robb's Uncle. He was an Andal, but he didn't seem to care I was a mage. Perhaps he'd figured out that annoying the guy who could magic up armies was a really bad idea. His father Jason Mallister had been with us, but he'd had to return to Seaguard as the Ironborn were raiding. They hadn't attacked the North, as Robb still kept Theon with him, but that didn't meant the Riverlands weren't at risk.

Patrek dismounted his horse and approached us.

"Will we witness the second Burning of Harrenhal, then?" Mallister asked.

I had something way cooler than that planned. I wanted to use Desecrated Earth, a black mana spell, but perhaps it was time to summon a dragon. It might win more support than destroying the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms with a spell. However I lacked Red Mana, so that would have to wait.

"Burning no" I said "But I will destroy it".

Maybe a Blue Mana spell would be better. Using Black Mana might become addictive, but I didn't want to vary the spells I used.

"I assume you'll need time to prepare" said Patrek.

After I nodded he led Jon, Samwell and I to a tent.

"We'd prepared this for you" the man said as we entered a tent "Since my father had to return to Seaguard, King Robb has ordered that you be the commander of this mission, as you're uniquely suited for it".

I was not impressed.

"Great accommodation." Jon said sarcastically at the practically bare tent.

There were three beds, a large table at the centre, and some chairs. Not much grandeur for a leader of an army.

"Interested in dragons?" I questioned the young man.

Perhaps I could use some cards to switch other mana for red. I'd have to check my deck.

"Indeed." Mallister replied, giving me a hopeful look. "Every boy's dream is to have a dragon to command and ride".

Normally I wouldn't even consider such a thing, but I'd discovered that I could summon creatures give someone the card and still end up with 40 cards in my deck if I waited a while. I figured I actually infinite cards, but that I could only access forty at a time. Which made sense as you could have too many options. Limiting my cards meant less time wasted sorting out which ones I wanted.

Therefore I saw no harm in offering him a warhorse. It had taken me so long to get there I could tap my lands again. The fact that I could was further proof that magic was coming back in force to this world.

"I can't do dragons, yet" I said "But I can create flying horses could Pegasus. Assuming you trust a magically created creature".

The son of a lord smiled.

"Baron the Seven did not strike down Aegon and his dragons, how then can a mere flying horse be sinful" he said.

A good rationalisation. But I didn't mind. Best to start making friends in the Riverlands now if I was going to rule part of it.

Oddly I didn't think much of giving people magical horses, it wasn't that dangerous, and despite having met talking ponies I didn't think of the steeds here as being people.

"Once I've rested I'll get you a Pegasus" I promised.

Bribery worked well in this world.

"Have you eaten, Lord Gothic? Ser Whitewolf? Squire Tully?" Mallister then asked.

The young lord sent for food and wine before anyone could answer.

I was now leaning back into the chair making it groan slightly due to the weight of my armour and equipment.

"What news do you have?" I asked "Heard anything about King Robb or the enemy?".

The scouts did not report to lords directly, or at least not to me. I wasn't exactly part of the chain of command.

"Yes." Mallister said with a nod "The last we'd heard from His Grace, King Robb, was that he was heading round the Golden Tooth, and that he planned to sneak his army to the other side and smash the levies being trained by Ser Stafford Lannister."

I nodded, idly noting that Jon's face relaxed slightly at the news.

"And, Harrenhal?" I asked.

Hopefully it was more good news.

"The enemy is encamped in that monstrous castle with enough provisions to last quite a long time." Mallister said. "We are unsure of the exact amount, but it would be safe to assume they could last for a year, although with the Ironborn attacking the Westerlands ports have been ravaged. So its doubtful they'll be resupplied anytime soon".

I was so glad Theon was with Robb and not buggering up things with his family.

"Why?" Jon asked in confusion "Why are they attacking".

My guess is that they were like sharks, they'd smelled lion's blood in the water and wanted to take a bite. Everyone hated the Lannisters.

"They're the Ironborn." Mallister replied "Damned Balon Greyjoy and his obsession with paying the Iron Price."

Oh, the Iron Price. It was the idea that warriors acquired all of their possessions by taking them from their defeated enemies, instead of trading with gold. Pure rubbish, if they actually followed that rule they'd have to kill a cook just to get breakfast.

"This makes things better for us" Jon stated.

Hopefully the war would end soon. Although we might have to fight the Iron Islands soon.

"So King Robb is likely smashing the levies at Oxcross, and he's left Harrenhal to us" I was now saying "We've got two thousand men and me".

I turned to address Mallister.

"Have the men ready for battle, Lord Mallister" I ordered.

He stared at me for a few seconds, before nodding. I had no idea what he'd been thinking.

"As you wish, Baron" he replied.

Hopefully I wouldn't need them.

"I'm not sure what will happen to the people when I destroy the castle" I told Mallister before he left the tent "They might all flee. Try not to kill anyone who isn't a soldier"

I didn't want to have the blood of servants on my hands. I'd helped the Northerners kill thousands, or perhaps only hundreds, but I'd done this to save millions. Murdering helpless people was counter productive to my goals even I put morality aside.

Which I did as I started to sort thought my cards. I needed ways to make Red Mana and I needed them now.

It was time for me to ride a dragon.

(Line Break)

 **Castle Gothic. The Riverlands.**

I'd used the card Eiganjo Castle to create what was being called Castle Gothic, it didn't look gothic, but it made a good impression on the locals suddenly having a castle. I imagined quite a few people in this area were now wondering if the Seven were right about magic users. Perhaps the old gods would get some converts.

King Robb had spread out the captured lords and knights between here and the north, so as to make them harder to rescue. He'd left Lord Tywin with me because no amount of promises of gold or threats would convince me to let him free.

The men who served Ser Jon, white wolves they called themselves, guarded the man, as did ghost, who was also immune to promises of gold.

Right now we were sitting like civilised people discussing the future. The old lion hadn't given up, but he'd seen this castle, and had known it came from nowhere. That was proof of my power.

"So if your king does win this war what will become of my family" he asked as we dined.

I saw no reason not to tell him.

"Your son, Tyrion, will rule the Westerlands." I told the lord.

His face turned even more sour, somehow.

"As for Cersei Lannister, her life is forfeit. I will spare her two younger children." I continued "Joffrey dies, and so do his most loyal supporters".

Tywin opened his mouth to speak, but then he stopped.

"It didn't have to work out like this" I was now saying "You stared a war that you've lost horribly, make no mistake about that".

I was hoping to get some info out of this guy. Which was why I was treating him well and not torturing him. Than tended to be counterproductive as men who give in to torture will tell you anything you want to hear to make the pain stop even if it isn't true, besides Tywin wasn't a young man. His body was give out before his strong mind broke.

"So did you kill King Robert and Lord Stark?" I asked.

A long moment passed.

"I did not." He finally said.

I stared at the head of House Lannister for a few moments, before nodding.

"I believe you" I then said.

With a card I created Blessed Wine, which was suppose to add one to my life. I had no idea how that worked in real life, but after drinking it last time I'd stopped feeling so tired. This time however I offered the glass to Tywin. I could tell he was trying hard to seem nonchalant about the impossible feats he was witnessing.

"Your son will be here shortly" I said "I sent for him. Until then, you shall be our... honoured guest, shall we say?".

The most powerful man in Westeros was what they called Tywin Lannister. What a joke. He was nothing compared to me.

His company was not amusing either, so I decided to let him eat dinner in peace. He was well guarded, and he was an old man. Plus an army would be needed to free him.

"So, now what?" I asked Jon as we walked through the hallways of the eastern style castle "House Lannister is almost beaten".

Well it was still a power in King's Landing, but at the rate things were going.

"It will depend on what Robb wants to do" I said "but I we'll be dealing with the other Kingdoms for a while. Stannis and Renly, most definitely."

They didn't need a Planeswalker for that.

"There is also the Wall..." Jon suggested.

He was worrying about the White Walkers again.

"We have years before they reach the wall" I said "Summer hasn't even ended yet".

There was an entire season between winter and summer, which could also last for a few years.

"So, wait for Robb, then?" Jon asking, seeking to clarify our next move.

That seemed like the best option.

"Pretty much" I said "and we should go check on Bran".

Things had been so hectic for me that I'd not had much time to study the material the archmaester of magic had given me. Nor had I tried to contact him.

"I was thinking of leaving for a few weeks" I then told Jon "We're not going to sack King's Landing, Stannis or Renly will do that. What's needed after that is for leaders to talk".

Ser Whitewolf looked shocked.

"You can't just leave" he protested.

I was of the opinion that I could.

"This isn't my war" I reminded Jon "and I've been neglecting my education. I only came to do some exploring. Besides it would only be for a few weeks".

When I got back then I could sort out the lands I owned. I was lord of a good part of the Riverlands now, and the smallfolk would need me to protect them, also to rebuild what had been lost during this war.

"Besides I have some ideas about how to turn the North and the Riverlands into the greatest kingdom this world has ever known" I told the young knight "Railroads, proper sewers, new farming methods, all that and more, but I can't just magic that up I need the right research materials and maybe some experts".

Jon considered this. He'd heard me speak of things they had in my world that they lacked here.

"Rob won't be back for a couple of weeks at least" he said "I can hold this castle for you".

I'd apply some magical defences before I let to ensure that. But I doubted there would be an attack. The focus would be on Kingslanding for a while.

"Thanks Jon" I replied "I'll leave in the morning and when I come back you and I are going to change the world. I promise you".

He wouldn't be able to imagine what was I planned to give the Riverlands and the North. Railroads were just the start.


	24. DC 1

**Author Note**

This chapter is short I know, but I've done loads of DC before and PG is just passing through this world.

 **Reviews**

 **DiveLord**

I'm glad you like the story.

The problem with PG encountering other Planeswalkers is that I don't fully understand how their powers work.

This is why I made up my way for PG. The cards and the mox diamonds that power them are very different from other kinds of magic that I know about. Plus he can gather power from land very easily. He's a ROB made Planeswalker not a natural one. So how he compares to other Planeswalkers is a bit of a mystery.

No he will not be using Slivers, they could too easily get of hand. Besides his summoned creatures aren't real the closet thing they compare to is Rimmer from Red Dwarf as a hard light hologram. They are magical constructs that mimic real creatures but not actually living thing.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **DC 1**

 **Gotham City.**

"Bugger" I muttered when I saw the sign.

Upon leaving Westeros I'd intended to travel to a modern world, at least by my standards, in order to find books that contained all the information I desired. Now that I was a leader in Westeros I intended to use my influence to improve things, at least somewhat. My plans involved using things like railroads to increase trade, sanitation to make people's lives more pleasant, as well as introducing new farming methods so there would be more food. Stuff like that. Plus there was that idea of heating homes with pipes, that could save some lives once winter arrived.

However navigating the Blinding Eternities is not an easy thing. The Howling was an unpleasant place, as such I'd left and had quickly entered the first modern world I could find. Now I was regretting this as I'd appeared within Gotham City. A city infamous for its crime and super crooks.

To make things even worse I had no idea which version of the city this was. Was it the setting for the older Batman movies like Batman Forever or the newer one like Batman Begins and Dark Knight Rising?

Since it would be a while before I could leave, Planeswalking was draining and dangerous not something to be done too often, I knew I had to make plan, and hunker down for a few days. A nice hotel would be best for that, somewhere classy. But that would require money and most likely some ID, neither of which I had.

Thankfully getting my hands on cash wasn't a problem. This was Gotham after all, before long, I saw pawn shops and a gold exchange. So it didn't take me much time to trade some of Golden Dragons for dollars. The coins had gotten me some odd looks, but the good thing about gold was that it was gold. Humans across the multiverse valued it despite it being a rather useless metal in my view.

I was just thinking about gathering some info before finding shelter when heard the sound of jingling bells as a door nearby opened. A group of kids, not much younger than I looked in this body, stepped out onto the street. They were laughing and chatting with each other.

"That was a hell of a game" a spotty redhead said to his friend

"Yeah that triple kill started it, and then things sorta snowballed from there" a dark haired brat replied.

The rest of the conversation faded into nothing as the pair of kids got further and further away from me, and soon my attention was drawn to the place they'd just exited.

I could see a series of computers, lined up against the walls. Also there were big TV screens, and lots more teenagers playing games. Also there college students, sitting around drinking coffee.

An Internet cafe, or something that had been an Internet cafe. Now it looked more like a hangout for young people. There were bean bag chairs, and art on the walls that looked as if someone had just thrown paint at a canvas. Even the music playing seemed tasteless to me. There was even some kind of anime playing on a big TV, with the sound off and with Japanese subtitles.

"Ten, Twenty, Twenty five, Thirty, Forty." I mumbled as I flipped through the bills in my hand.

It took about a minute because I made sure to double check my number. I had three hundred and fifty dollars; I assumed a session in here wouldn't cost nearly that much. I kept a fifty dollar bill in my hand, folding up the rest and placing it back in my pocket.

It was a risk, but I didn't have much of a choice at the moment. Besides, a gaming cafe didn't exactly scream "criminal refuge" to me I was unlikely to be mugged or murdered in there.

So, I entered the place. The door opened with a jingle, causing the guy behind a counter to sit up and look in my direction. I glanced around, noting the many posters, depicting various games, as well as some anime. Very little of which I was familiar with.

In the centre of the cafe, there was a large, glass desk, filled with t-shirts all with comic-book and game motifs. I picked up a Mass Effect t-shirt and hoodie, as I needed a new clothes. I was not wearing my armour so I was back in the clothes I'd been wearing when I dropped to the ground outside Winterfell, they weren't exactly clean.

"Can I help you?" the guy behind the counter asked.

He had a beard and was wearing glasses, he reminded me of one of the nerds that live his parent's basement. Guy had a Klingon costume at home, I'd bet on it.

Also he had an expression that let me he didn't approve of my battered clothing. Perhaps he was the poor sucker who had to clean this place.

"Yes you can" I told the guy.

Carefully I placed fifty dollars on the glass table

"I was hoping I could borrow one of your computers" I then said "Oh and I'll take the clothes too.

The guy now looked annoyed

"You haven't been to an Internet cafe recently" the guy behind the counter said.

I'd hadn't for a very long time. Not since I was in high school.

"You need a membership card" he explained.

Why was nothing ever simple?

"I don't have any ID on me" I told the bloke "I'm not from around here".

The accent should give that away.

"No problem I just need your name and address for the paperwork" he said.

I then realised that I could give him my details from my world. It wasn't like he could check.

Once my information was taken the guy inserted a card in a small, black box, and typed some more.

"You get two free hours" I was told as I was handed a card "There you go. Just slide that in one of the card readers and have fun".

As I understood the cards would access to the games as well, but I had no time for Call of Duty.

"Thank you" I said, before making my way to the end of the room, passing by a few occupied seats as well as some kids playing Counter-Strike.

Once I'd found a computer I fumbled with the card, inserting wrong a few times, before finally getting it right. I hadn't had to deal with advanced tech for a while as I was a wizard.

To start with I typed in Gotham. I skipped a few weather reports and got a map. Apparently in this world Gotham City and Metropolis were neighbours. Also the statue of Liberty was in Gotham, so this was a counterpart to my world New York. It had a detailed history, going back to a story about the land being cursed by a native American tribe that been slaughtered by settlers from Europe. Which I totally believed, as it explained a lot about this city.

Next I looked for any mention of Batman and found nothing. So I looked for Bruce Wayne, and found that his parents had died mere weeks ago. So this was a Gotham City with no Batman, which was even worse than one with a Batman.

I followed links from that report and discovered that Detective Gordon was currently Gotham's white knight. Also judging by the photos this was the Gotham drama series. Season 1.

Metropolis was as well free any heroes. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as Gotham. However there was no Superman there so I looked up Smallville next.

"Smallville Meteor Freaks?" I asked myself.

Meteor freaks?

I clicked on the provided hyperlink, and ended up somewhere else on the net. Someone was collecting data on the weirdness in this world. Mostly found mentions of a school newspaper called "The Torch", as well as a few other odds and ends. UFO reports. Talk about vampires, ghosts and all that jazz.

Then I smiled as a new page was displayed. In it, was a basic explanation of what meteor freaks were. I read it over for a few minutes.

From what I could understand, the meteor freaks were created from exposure to the radiation coming off of meteor rock. A few pictures were included of the rocks; glowing, green rocks. Apparently, around seventeen years ago, there was a meteor shower, which had impacted Smallville

All this and more was explained by a Miss Chloe Sullivan. I decided that it would cool to go met Clark Kent. But I would wait a few days so that if the meeting went badly I would be able to Planeswalk away.

(Line Break)

By the time I'd finished my Internet research, and for one that didn't mean: looking at porn. It was getting dark and I was looking for somewhere nice to stay, but not too nice as I didn't have any ID, however I didn't want to spend the night with some cockroaches so I was being somewhat picky.

As I walked someone bumped into me and since this was Gotham I checked my pockets, my money was gone. That person, a kid had just robed me. Whoever he was, he had balls. Stealing from a Planswalker.

It was a few minutes later when I realised this was wrong. The pickpocket was a girl and a young one at that. I found her in an alley and she counting through my cash. I used TK, which worked well enough here, and reclaimed my dosh.

Then I lifted the girl into the air, with the intent of lecturing her about meddling in the affairs of wizards. Only she didn't freak out or struggle, she just looked mildly surprised.

"I live in Gotham" she said, after I'd asked her why she wasn't screaming for help "This isn't the weirdest thing I've seen recently".

This was I figured out who is one. This was mini Catwoman.

"If you're in this for food, I can treat you to dinner" I offered the kid "I have a little business you can help me with, and I'll pay you for your time".

At this point she was floating upside down, she had her arms crossed, but other than that she seemed relaxed.

"Depends on where we're going for dinner, and what this business is" she said "I'm Kat by the way"

I wasn't fooled by the act, she had to be more scared than she looked.

"There any good sushi places around here?" I asked her "I've always wanted to try proper sushi".

It wasn't easy to get in the UK.

"Who are you?" Selina asked me.

This was a fair question.

"My name is Gothic" I told her "Well its Lord Gothic, but I doubt you care about titles. I'm new this city, I've got cash, more than you grabbed, but I don't have any ID. Plus I need some where to stay for a few days. I want to hire you as a guide, you keep me out of a trouble and I'll give you silver".

The girl's eyes lit up.

"Silver?" she asked "Like what? Necklaces, rings, that sort of thing".

My pouch of holding was quite safe. It couldn't be stolen from me while I was alive. And mini Catwoman was not going to murder me. Also it contained many golden dragons, silver stags, and even some of coins the ponies used.

"Are you going to try touching me?" Kat then asked.

I disgusted by the mere idea.

"Of course not, your like ten years old" I said.

She took that personally.

"I'm thirteen" she corrected

Yeah like there was a difference.

"So, dinner?" I asked "Ladies choice".

Gently I let the street kid down onto the ground.

"I could eat." Selina grinned. "I know just the place too".

As she led me out of the ally, she started asking questions.

"So how'd you get me up in the air?" she wondered "Wires?".

Oh it was way more complex than that.

(Line Break)

"Hot dogs? Really?" I asked before biting into the food "Hey, this isn't bad."

I'd skipped out on the onions, but I'd gone for everything else.

"Gotham's finest." Selina said with a grin. "So what brings you here anyways?"

Before saying anything else I started walking again. I didn't want people overhearing me.

"Just doing some travelling" I told her.

Which was true. My overall goal in life was to do some exploring and get an eduction in magic. Sadly things kept getting in the way.

"So... what else are we doing tonight?" Selina asked me, between bites of food.

We'd become a duo very quickly. Mind you I don't imagine many teenager would turn down getting to hang out with a real magic user. Plus I'd paid her two silver coins in advance. I was sure she knew someone who would pay paper money for them.

"Well you could show me around the city." I offered. "The highs and the lows. As in someone low enough to sell me a fake idea, and a place high enough that I can get a decent hotel room".

Also I'd like a bath. She could with one too.

"Well the lows I can show you." Selina told me "The highs not so much"

That wouldn't be a problem. A taxi would take us to a nice hotel.

"Well, let's start with what you know and we can go from there" I suggested "One fake ID please".

(Line Break)

Hotel. Gotham City.

"I've created a monster" I muttered as I watched Selina lounge around in a oversized bathrobe while counting through piles of cash "A money monster".

Given that I'd brought a thirteen year old girl to a nice hotel, and we'd booked a room with two single beds. I'd half expected the police to come charging in thinking they were going to arrest a sex offender. But Kat seemed to know what she was doing, and how much to bribe people so they wouldn't question me. Unsurprising really, this was Gotham.

"This is heaven." Selina stated as she counted through her pile of money for the tenth time this evening.

It had been a wondrous fortnight but I had to move on soon. I couldn't stay in Gotham much longer without attracting attention from someone. I'd already broken up three human trafficking rings and destroyed several warehouses full of illegal drugs.

This place was rife with corruption and as such gave me ample access to Black Mana. As well as a new kind of mana I'd discovered which I called Steel Mana, it was a metallic colour and could be spent to summon up vechiles and creatures such as biker gangs, robots and for some reason Godzilla, although that would cost a lot of mana.

Using my cards Kat and I had been able to take out whole gangs. She'd get me close to the crooks to see them while not being seen. Then I'd unleash a monster, and have the creature dump the bodies out the way, so Kat wouldn't see them, then we'd rob the crook's hideout.

Fun times, but even in a Gotham without Batman someone would take notice and come after me. It was best to leave, besides I wanted to go back to Westeros and check on the war. But before that I wasn't going to go to Smallville and met the guy who would one day be called Superman.

"Kat I have something for you" I told the girl who was pretty much my side kick, at least for now.

Selina frowned as she stared at the present.

"Are these what I think they are?" she asked me.

The small bag contained gold coins, more silver coins, and even some mox jewels I'd conjured up.

"Yes they are gems" I told her. "What you do with them is up to you".

These things along with the cash we'd looted should be enough to keep her fed and clothed for many years to come.

"You're leaving aren't you?" Selina asked me.

I nodded.

"Sorry, I can't stay here." I said with a sigh "This place is getting to me. If I stick around much longer I'm going to do something I'll probably regret".

I needed to balance out the mana I was using, otherwise I'd stop fighting crooks and become one of them. Already it was starting to become tempting to turn myself into a crime lord. It would start with me wanting to control crime in order to lessen it, but over time I'd stop caring about anything other than power. Then I'd die a bloody death. Best to avoid all that and do that I really wanted to do. Which was explore and expand my knowledge.

"Where are you going?" Kat asked.

She'd come to accept magic quickly enough, but if I explained that I was off to go met an alien, that might be too much for her to handle. Or worse she'd totally believe it and won't to tag along. Which would screw up the time line totally. Bruce Wayne needed Selina Kyle here otherwise he'd never become Batman.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." I told her.

She totally ignored that advice.

"So where did the jewels come from?" Selina asked me.

I smirked.

"Magic" I then said.

She'd seen me to do far weirder.

"Right." Selina said with a nod. "It's been fun. If you're ever in town..."

Finding her would be hard work, but should I ever return to this cesspool of a city I was sure I'd figure out a way to to find her.

"I'll look you up." I promised. "No hard feelings?"

She nodded her head.

"You're taking this very well." I stated.

She smiled at me.

"You just gave me a bag full of treasure" Selina pointed out "Now go away before this turns into a chick flick moment".

Yes best to avoid that.

"You do realise this is my hotel room." I told her.

I didn't have anywhere else to go.

"One more night then." Selina said. "Order room service. I'm thinking lobster".

Which I would have to pay for. She was mad about me leaving.

"As my lady wishes" I said before picking up the phone and ordering dinner for two.

Once I'd done that Kat started talking again.

"Still, it wasn't all bad." Selina said as we waited for the food. "I had some fun, got to live the good life for a while, and you got enchanted my outfit".

Which was more than anyone else had done for her I was sure.

"Leather is good for magic" I explained "It hold enchantments better than man made materials".

I'd buffed up her street thief outfit as best I could. Nothing that would make her super human, but they should help her get out of the trouble I was sure she'd get herself into.

"Okay dinner won't be for an hour" I was saying "So how about pay per view?".

We could go out and cause the criminal underworld another headache, but since it was unlikely I'd ever see Kat again I wanted to leave her with a memory of me doing normal things with her. That did not involve using magic.


	25. DC 2

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **DC 2**

 **Smallville. Kanas.**

Rather than travel all the way to Kanas via coach or whatever I'd decided to Planeswalk to Stormwind, so I could pick up more enchanting supplies, and then Planeswalk back to this world a few days later, only arriving in Smallville rather than Gotham.

And it worked. I was getting rather good at traversing the Void. It was even becoming a slighty less horrible experience. Still I envied Jon Snow, he'd never experienced the Howling, even though he'd gotten to travel to another world.

As I walked through Smallville a few people gave me some odd glances, but I ignored them. They were likely not used to newcomers. Small towns usually worked like that I figured. Not that I cared. I wasn't going to be here for that long, and I planned to keep out of sight as much as possible in case some meteor freak went on a rampage.

As soon as I was done with visiting Clark and doing some more enchantment, I would go home. Well I'd return to Castle Gothic in the Rivlerlands and start my work improving Westeros, at least until I got bored of that and went somewhere else.

At some point I really did need to focus on my magical education, perhaps I'd check the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and try to teach myself wand magic, or maybe I'd go back to Canterlot so I could study under Princess Luna some more.

Soon I went in the coffee shop, figuring that it was a good source of information, much as a tavern would be Westeros. The inside was stylised as any modern coffee shop. Not a bad place, all things considered.

I moved right over to the middle aged, red headed woman who was taking orders from an army of caffeine deprived Americans, so I simply stood to the side, and waited until she was done. As I waited I didn't fail to notice the Egyptian motif this place had. This seemed like an odd choice of decoration for a coffee shop in Kanas.

It took a while, but eventually the woman was free. The red head smiled at me warmly, in a way that let me know that this woman was a mother. I didn't recognise her, but I hadn't watched show much Smallvillie as such that was no surprise. I'd found that show a bit dull, too much drama not enough action.

"Hello" I said.

I was now debating if I should try to use British charm or not. Americans seemed to like it.

"Welcome to the Talon " The red headed lady said with another smile "Can I help you?".

Indeed she could.

"I'm on a bit of journey" I told the woman "and I'm just passing through town, figured I'd stay a week or two, is there a motel or something around here. Or even a room to rent. Money isn't an issue".

If this was a small town in England, with weather and scenery as nice as Smallville there would be a Bed and Breakfast somewhere. But this was the USA. I didn't know how things worked here.

"Actually there is a room for rent upstairs" the woman told me.

This was pleasing news.

"Is it available right now?" I asked hopefully.

Another reason I wanted to stick around somewhere peaceful was that aside from needing to rest I planned to work on my own enchanted outfit. Something I could wear on modern worlds that would offer me some protection. Also their were other things I could make, using materials I could gain by breaking down the artefact's I got from cards and as well as other things.

"It is" the woman confirmed "Would you like to see it?"

I nodded gratefully.

"That would be great, Miss…?"

Then I spotted the wedding ring.

"Sorry" I apologised "Mrs".

I was also married, but wedding rings weren't a custom in the Northern Kingdom of Westeros. Had I gotten a wife for reasons other than to create an alliance, and so that no one in the Seven Kingdoms would try to get to marry their daughter, I might have bother to enchant some rings for myself and Meera. As it was I just didn't care, getting married hadn't effect my life much.

"Oh, where are my manners?" she asked herself

She extended her hand, looking a little embarrassed.

"Martha Kent" she said.

I took her hand, giving it a firm shake. I then introduced myself, using my name on the fake ID.

"Now about this apartment?" I asked.

Mrs Kent then called someone over to take over for her. Which was good timing because I'd just connected the dots in my head. Martha Kent was Clark Kent's adopted mother.

"Lois!" the woman called.

There was a noise from nearby, plates being stacked I guessed.

"Yes, Mrs. K?" someone answered.

A somewhat attractive brunette popped out from the back, before walking over to us. She eyed me curiously for a moment, before turning to Martha.

"Could you take over for me here, Lois?" Martha Kent asked the girl, while motioning to me. "I'm going to show this gentlemen the apartment above the shop".

It had been a while since anyone called me a gentlemen, must be the accent.

"Sure." Lois said, just before giving me cursory glance.

Soon I followed Martha Kent up the staircase and into the apartment. I moved around the flat, checking every inch of the place. The place was quite basic; just one big room really. There was no real wall separating the bedroom from the kitchen, and living area. The bathroom was however separate. It was a studio apartment, a well furnished one.

"Well, what do you think?" Martha Kent asked me.

This would do. There was a table big enough for me to my enchanting work.

"Looks great." I said, while placing my duffel bag on the nearby couch "I guess you'll want a months rent in advance even I don't stay that long, and say a couple hundred as a security deposit".

I was soon given a figure.

"500 hundred dollars" Mrs Kent told me "but I can offer you a few shifts in the coffee shop and take your pay out of the rent. You can keep any tips, and you get free coffee".

Generous, but unnecessary. I opened by duffel bag, which I used to contain things that didn't need to be hidden in my pouch of holding. Then I took out five hundred dollars. Which was nothing as I had over twenty thousand dollars on me.

While giving the lady the money I also let her see my ID. It was a fake, but a good one, and it did say I was from another country originally. I didn't know if they had this kind of ID in my world and I didn't care to find out.

"I know it's not my business, but how did you get this kind of money?" Mrs Kent enquired.

A valid question.

"No, it's fine." I said, reassuring the woman. "I didn't rob a bank, or mug anyone. I got most of it from trading in artifacts.

It was not technically a lie. I had gotten Westerosi coins for artifacts, which I then traded at the gold exchange for dollars. The rest was taken from crooks.

The woman smiled before grabbing a few keys off of a nearby shelf, and handing them to me. One was for the apartment, and the second was for the coffee shop. It wouldn't do to be stuck outside all night because I couldn't enter the Talon itself.

"Well, if that's all." Martha said, after explaining some rules. "I should leave you to get some rest. You look like you need it".

Planeswalking was not like opening a portal, it was taxing on a physically and spiritual level. Perhaps Mrs Kent had picked up on that and had rushed through things. Normally you didn't just rent out an apartment to some stranger. I also assumed that given that this was a small town that no else had shown interest in the flat, and that renting it out to me was highly profitable.

"Thank you." I said as nodded gratefully.

I locked the door, before going straight to the bed. I dropped unceremoniously onto the bed, placing the duffel bag on the side. I kicked off my boots, and began to relax. Everything was fine I'd found a place to stay, I'd acquired some monetary resources, and even had time off to finally do some magical studies.

My last thoughts before succumbing to the inevitable pull of sleep were about nothing at all important.

(Line Break)

The Talon. Smallvillie.

Some time later, I was up and had hard at work. I was just putting the finishing touches to a set of bracers when I was distracted by the sound of a loud banging on the door. I

I could have just ignored the sound, and gone back to work. Alas the knocking persisted. I tried my best to ignore it, but whoever was behind that door was extremely stubborn. Soon I grumbled in annoyance, and headed for the door.

"Coming!" I called out loudly.

The knocking stopped when I opened the door, revealing the same brunette who had covered for Mrs. Kent when she showed me around my new apartment. Lois something or other. A young Lois Lane most likely.

"Finally!" she shouted.

The girl looked quite annoyed, as she strolled into my apartment without so much as a hello, and started looking around the place. She went from one side of the apartment to the next, clearly set on finding something.

"Where is it?" she demanded of someone.

She bent over the couch, showing me an incredible view of her butt.

"Can I help you?" I asked "What are you looking for?"

This had to be Lois Lane, someone with no respect for the privacy of others.

"Oh, it's just a box full of cups and stuff." she answered, looking a little annoyed. "I think I put in here the other day. Then, I forgot about it".

I wondered if she was lying and was in fact snooping. But if so why had she knocked so loudly. However I let her get on with it as she of no interest to me.

There was some more commotion, before Lois walked out of the bedroom, holding what seemed to be a heavy box, filled with various cups and bowls of different sizes.

She walked out of the apartment without saying a word, and I shut the door a few moments after she left.

"That was weird" I muttered "She is weird".

I went back to work.

(Line Break)

Kent Farm. Smallville.

I was annoyed. I'd travelled to the Kent Farm intending to met the future Superman, while also gathering some mana from all the fields, and I'd wound up being confronted by Lois and her cousin, who apparently had done a background check on me.

Of course I didn't exist in the records of this world so Lois had come to the farm to inform Clark. I guess they were worried about strangers snooping around given all the strange crap that happened around here.

Lois must have planted the box of cups in the bedroom so that if the room was rented she had an excuse to snoop around. It was cleverly done, and no doubt Mrs Kent was in on it from the start. I had to stop underestimating Americans, they were cunning than they seemed. And smarter too Mr Kent had greeted me with a shotgun. Thankfully he'd put it away once I had started explaining my intentions.

Things had progressed better after I'd explained exactly why I was here. They hadn't believed that I knew the future, but magic was easy to prove. Plus it had helped when I'd summoned up a magical artifact using only a piece of card.

I'd just been showing the girls Winter's Bane when a blur had rammed into me and had thrown me out of the barn. Which was what was annoying me so much.

Quickly I got back to my feet, and saw the newcomer already standing in front of me, sizing me up with his piercing gaze. He was tall, and broad-shouldered. It made for an imposing figure, despite the harmless farmer outfit he had on. Superman in training basically.

"Oh I'm going to kick your ass for that" I said aggressively.

You don't just batter a Planeswalker around and expect to get away with it. I threw up a magical shield and then gathered energies so I could make a fireball, a spell I'd picked up in Stormwind.

His eyes glowed slightly, before ray of heat shoot out of his eyes, impacting my fire spell as it left my hand. I was knocked on my ass again, but thankfully not burned. I figured that those cards that were suppose to increase my life or whatever actually did have an effect.

Looking around I saw a heavy wooden log. Which I wrapped in unicorn magic before throwing at Clark. I knew it wouldn't hurt him much I just wanted to strike a blow. Which I did.

My satisfaction was however short lived; barely a few seconds after I downed him, he had gotten right back up, looking unscathed and a wee bit mad.

"I won't let you hit me like that again." the future superman promised, before blurring into action once more.

This time I had a shield up, so I sort of bounced down a field like a stone skipping on a lake. Thankfully I didn't go far, he'd held back on the blow. Once I'd stopped I saw Clark Kent rubbing his hand. I figured punching a magic shield hadn't gone easy on him.

Before he blurred again I took out a greater magical wand, a WOW magical item I'd made myself and blasted Kent with some magical energy. Clark got knocked on his ass for a change and I used this chance to get nearer to him. Intending to blast him at close range.

"Hey, guys stop it" a female voice cried out.

Clark glared at me, once he had gotten up, and Chloe looked between us warily, wondering if we were going to attack one another.

"Hold on I'm human" I told the alien "I'm a wizard from another world. I actually came to met you, but Lois and Chloe figured out that I wasn't normal. We were just discussing it before you arrived".

It was a good thing Superman never killed people. Although the same couldn't be said for injuring them. My everything hurt. It would have been worse if not for the leather I wore.

"And the sword?" Clark wondered.

He must of thought I was threatening the girls with the sword rather than just showing it off. Chloe was holding it right now.

"That was just something I'd picked up in another dimension its proof that I am who I say I am".

Magic swords were good for that. Winter's Bane didn't look like a normal sword.

"Every meteor freak we've encountered has tried to kill us one way or the other. At the very least, they were mentally unstable." Chloe told me.

That would also explain why Clark hadn't reacted well to seeing that I had powers. He must have been thinking that I was one of them. Perhaps he still did.

"Not to worry" I said as attempted to smile at the girl reassuringly My powers have nothing to do with meteor rocks".

I had watched some Smallville so I had an idea of what the freaks could do. Thankfully only long term exposure to the space rock caused problems for humans. People had Smallville had been contaminated by the stuff more than a decade ago. It was in the fields were they grew their food and in the water too.

"If he's that stands between you and the freaks it's a surprise you've lasted this long" I commented.

Superman young or not would never kill me or even damage me too baldy now that he knew I was human, so it was fun to goad him knowing that he wouldn't do anything about it. He was paragon for life. Which made me wonder how none of the freaks had been able to kill his friends and family. It wasn't like he'd stop them in any lethal way.

"Whatever you threw at me didn't hurt much" Clark said challengingly.

Well I was only an apprentice enchanter. My magic wand didn't do much damage.

"Just be glad I didn't use this" I said while bringing my sword to my hand with TK.

Clark stared at me impassively.

"Maybe you two want to take them out and having a measuring contest" Lois said, gaining my attention "Or maybe we can go inside and grab a bite to eat?"

Now I was realising that I was quite hungry

"Good idea. Just let me grab my bag" I replied.

For good reasons I didn't leave my stuff lying around. Some of my clothes, like the stuff I was wearing now, was magical.

I went in the barn, followed by Clark and Chloe, and placed Winter's Bane, back in the duffel bag, before zipping it closed. I nodded to the two locals, before following them into the home.

Clark excused himself, saying he needed a shower but that he would be keeping an eye on me. He could see through walls after all. Meanwhile Jonathan Kent busied himself in the kitchen, fixing everyone a quick lunch I figured.

"I've never seen anyone knock Clark on his butt before, at least not so easily. That was incredible, the way you stood up to him!" Chloe said.

I'd had the advantage of using magic, which he was weak to, and knowing that he wouldn't really hurt me. Besides she was clearly using flattery, in an attempt to gain information not doubt.

"Not that impressive. I just caught him by surprise, that's all" I replied "I don't think he's use to humans who can actually hurt him. Besides he knocked me down a few times.

"Didn't look that way to me." Chloe said skeptically, rubbing at her neck.

She must have missed the part when he'd blasted my fireball, that had been cool.

"Well, how much of the fight did you see?" I asked.

She spent a moment in thought.

"I saw Clark throw you halfway across the field. You somehow made a shield and just sort of bounced. How did you do that? Clark is supposed to be really strong".

He was, he'd thrown me out of the barn with no trouble. I was pretty sure he'd used just the right amount of force to ensure that I landed on a soft patch of ground.

If he'd wanted to he could have snapped my neck before anyone even realised he was there.

"Magic" I answered.

Chloe nodded her head

"It makes sense" she stated.

Now I was curious.

"How so?" I asked curiously.

She soon told me.

"A while back Clark dealt with the reincarnated spirit of seventeenth century witch called Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, she brought her two friends back to life and caused a lot of havoc here in Smallville." Chloe told me "Clark didn't have any special resistance to her magic".

She then looked worried.

"You're not going to start casting spells on us are you?" she wished to know.

Quickly I shook my head.

"I not a witch" I explained "My magic works differently, and I'm also a Planeswalker, we only tend to go crazy if we use the same kind of magic too much. Its kind of like if you only eat one of the food groups, its unhealthily but if you eat a little from all the different groups your okay".

Speaking of food, Jonathan Kent came into the living room with a tray full of sandwiches.

"Here." Jonathan said, placing the tray on the table and grabbing a sandwich for himself. "It's not exactly gourmet cuisine, but it will do".

They were turkey sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise. I took small, but satisfying bites of the provided yummy food.

"I should explain why I came here" I told the group of people "Really I just came here to met Clark, and to take a break before going somewhere else".

Jonathan Kent seemed shocked.

"You know about Clark?" he asked "I just thought you were investigating the people infected by the meteor rock".

Well that did make sense. Some unknown person arrives in town, rents an apartment and then visits this farm. Really I was just lucky that the Kents were kind people and welcoming.

"That's not my business" I said "Really I am just passing through. As for Clark... do you know about mutli verse theory?".

Explaining Superman could take a while, but it wasn't as if I was in a rush to go anywhere.

(Line Break)

Kent Farm. Smallville.

Lunch was over and Mr Kent was starting dinner when I finally finished talking about the adventures I'd had so far, and this was without mentioning what I'd done this world. Lois, Chloe and Clark were very interested in what was going on Westeros, more so than the talking ponies.

"So you want Clark's help with these White Walkers?" Chloe asked me.

I actually hadn't considered that, but now that someone had mentioned the idea it was tempting. Young Superman here could just stand on top of the Wall and burn the dead with his heat vision. It wouldn't take much effort from him as the Wights burned really easily.

"Hold on" Mr Kent said as he re-entered the room "These White Walkers might be evil, but they're still people. Clark can't just kill them".

Well he good with some dragon glass. He wouldn't even need to get close he could just throw the stuff at them.

"I can deal with the Walkers" I assured everyone "The army of the dead are the real problem. They can only be destroyed by fire or by basically being taken apart, and the more people they kill the more it adds to the army".

There was more to say.

"Westeros is medieval and there's a civil war going on" I said "even without the war they could be overrun, and its not like they have anyway of safely locking up the Walkers. Either I destroy a dozen or so Walkers and their army of the dead or millions of humans, many of which are just peasants trying to live their lives".

Clark looked as his adopted father.

"Millions of people, Dad" was all he had to say.

I had stuff to add.

"There's no risk from people seeing him use his powers as he won't be staying in that world" I added "and he doesn't need to go now. I don't even know where the Walkers are. If he went now we'd just get drawn into the conflict between humans and they have me helping them there".

Mr. Kent was not happy.

"How many zombies are there?" he asked "Even Clark could be overwhelmed by an army".

Plus the wights themselves might count as magical creatures meaning they might be able to hurt Clark, and the Walkers themselves were magical. I shuddered at idea of Clark being turned int a wight. Although he might be very dangerous as undead since his powers were solar based and wights avoided daylight as a rule. They attacked under the cover of blizzards and darkness.

"Thousands, maybe tens of thousands" I said "But they are animated by the power of the Night King, if I can take him out they should just become corpses again".

At least in theory. I knew the other Walkers got their power from the Night King, and that there was limit to that power since there were only a dozen or so Walkers.

There was also the lord of light to worry about. But my thinking was that if I killed all his priests then there would be no sacrifices to him. That should at least delay the big ass demon.

"Don't worry there's no need to offer support yet anyway" I told everyone "The Walkers aren't moving quickly, it could be years before they attack the Seven Kingdoms".

Clark seemed disappointed, perhaps he'd just wanted a chance to visit another world.

"I wasn't going to head straight back anyway" I then added "I have other places to see and things to do".

If I took Clark along on my trip and he stopped to solve other world's problems with his powers he'd be doing for the rest of his life. The multi verse was infinite, or at least close enough not to matter if it wasn't.

"Well you should stay for dinner" Mr. Kent invited "And tell us where your going next".

That I could do. It would be nice to talk to people who accepted my strangeness so easily. Mind you they knew an alien and had seen all kinds of freaks so perhaps I wasn't that strange to them.


	26. Wizarding World 1

**Reviews**

 **RoyalTwinFangs**

Clark Kent dressed as a knight from Westeros. That amuses me.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Wizarding World 1**

 **Headmaster's Office. Hogwarts.**

Despite my earlier thinking on the matter I really hadn't gotten the hang of this Planeswalking business after all. I'd intended to travel to the College of Winterhold, as I really needed to gather materials for my magical studies, before finally returning to Westeros, yet somehow I'd ended up at Hogwarts of all places. Clearly this Planeswalking thing was harder to master than I'd first imagined.

This had led to me deducing two things. One was that someone or something wanted to keep me out of Skyrim, as this was the second time attempting to Planeswalk there had gone wrong. Perhaps it was the Nine Divines or one of the Princes. They would might know about my kind and could have even had dealings with them making them want to keep other Walkers far away from their little playground.

The other thing I'd figured was that was that this world might be exactly what I needed. I greatly desired a magical education and this was a school of mages. Only I wasn't a child so I'd not be able to become a student here.

Before long, while wandering the many corridors of the castle, I'd bumped into Albus (too many middle names) Dumbledore, and now we were in his office enjoying a nice cup of tea. An event only somewhat ruined by him inviting Snape into his office. Thankfully the greasy haired git was keeping his mouth firmly shut, at least for now.

The Headmaster explained a few things about this world to me, and in exchange I'd told him who and what I was. Which had been easy to prove since I could turn coloured bits of card into magical artifacts, all without the use of a wand.

Hopefully that wouldn't turn out to be a mistake. If word got around that I could reach other worlds there would be people out there willing to try exploiting me. I didn't know how they'd attempt to secure my services, although I could make guesses. A love potion might do it, or more direct forms of control.

If Dumbledore had ever heard of a Planeswalker he didn't mention it, and I was more interested in hearing about this version of the Wizarding World. I'd wanted to make sure it matched up to what I knew.

So far it seemed to be movie cannon. The Triwizard Tournament had ended a few weeks ago, and that meant Voldie was back from the dead. Not that he worried me too much. If I saw him I could just leave this reality.

The Headmaster's office was impressive. There were shelves filled with books and magical thingies that were letting out small puffs of smoke or rotating and what not. Dumbledore sat behind his large desk that had papers and books on it, also there was a large window behind him with a rather nice view of the hills. Sadly the Phoenix was nowhere in sight, its perch sat empty next to his desk. The magical bird must be off flying.

By now we'd gotten to the point of conversation were Dumbledore was trying to decide what to do with me. As if my life was something he could control. This amused more than offended me. Still I was playing along, and had decided to request a job.

"I don't see how you'd be qualified for the spot of Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, and I am bit light on details. Like your full name" he said.

Since this was the year Umbridge would be inflicted upon the school I would have thought Dumbledore would be eager to find someone to take the job. Alas this wasn't proving to be the case.

"Sorry, but I don't give out my real name" I told the old man "I am Gothic that's is all people should call me. As for the rest, I'll answer anything you wish to know, Professor Dumbledore".

So far Dumbledore seemed more like canon than Crazydore so Evildore so I decided not to annoy the man too much. In all fairness I'd just appeared inside his castle via unknown means and with unknown intentions, and now I wanted a job I wasn't qualified for. No wonder he wasn't going for it. I had to try something else, but what?.

"I see," Dumbledore said, while he leaned back into his chair "I am curious though, I don't recognise your accent. It is British, but unlike any I've heard.

That would be Westerosi influence. I did sound a bit like a Northerner, another British person could pick up on that.

"I've travelled to different worlds" I reminded the Headmaster, having already mentioned this "And I lived for a time with people who sound a little like I do now. Their culture had a way of rubbing off on me".

That I was from another world was something the Headmaster had accepted once I'd shown him proof of how different my magic was. Plus turning a piece of colourful cardboard into a magical object had a habit of banishing doubt.

"Why do you really want to teach here at Hogwarts?" Dumbles then asked.

I soon gave him an answer.

"Mostly because I want access to the library so I can figure out how your magic works and how to use it" I told the Headmaster "I travel a lot, and some places are very dangerous, your kind of magic could help to keep me safe".

Dumbledore nodded, acting as if he understood.

"What more can you do?" he then asked "You can't cast our kind of magic, at least not yet, perhaps you have something you could teach us in exchange".

I had an idea.

"A know large variety of things, Professor Dumbledore," I answered with a smile "For example I could teach enchantment. Not like how you do it, my way involves special tools and powders. Which I can supply and use to teach your students how to make their own magical items. Most of which enhance the body and offer protection as something worn. I won't do any weapons enchanting of course. Not with children".

He would need more.

"As a teacher, I would of course be obligated to help defend your school from external threats as well" I added "I can summon up more than artifacts. I can creature magical creatures as well. They aren't real of course, but they can do a lot of damage. I for one do believe that Voldemort is alive. And if he and followers attack this school, I would drive them away or at least aid in doing so".

Or have one my creatures horribly kill them, that would depend on how bad of a mood they found me in, and how much mana I had access to.

Dumbledore slowly nodded. He accepted my words easily enough. I had to suspect that he'd heard about Planeswalkers before or at least met someone from another world. It was also possible that he'd read my mind, and had seen at least some of what I could do already. I'd have to looked that Occlomancy thing they had while I was here.

"And in return for the job, you would have access to the Hogwarts library" the Headmaster stated "as well a decent wage, a roof over your head and good food".

It was a decent deal.

"Indeed," I said with a smile "As I mentioned before, I am curious about your kind of magic and having a whole new kind of magic to learn would draw the interests of the students. I would appreciate if you kept my... true nature... hidden, even if I get the job. You could just tell people that I've travelled the world and picked up some forgien tricks".

The old wizard nodded

"Setting up a new class will not be easy" stated the Headmaster "Third years and above can chose the course as an optional extra. It might be possible to set up an OWL exam by the end of the year. We can set the standard for a passing grade. We'd have to use Ministry approved examiners of course, but they would simply be overseeing the tests you create".

That wouldn't be easy as I'd have to write the exam paper, and also have them do something practical. Plus the Ministry would need to approve, it depended on how the education system worked in this world. Also given that the Headmaster was having trouble with the government I wondered how he'd be able to arrange an entire new course. Not that this was my problem.

"NEWT level will be impossible" Dumbledore said more to himself than me "too demanding on already overworked students, and 1st and 2nd year students have a full time table".

He then seemed to return to the present.

"And I will need to see some examples of your enchanting" he stated.

Soon I reached into my bag of holding and took out some wands as well a pair of bracers I'd enchanted.

"Please give me leave to study these" he requested.

Before leaving Smallville I'd made some more wands, I planned to give one each to Brandon Stark and my bother in law. They were mages so should be able to use them. They just fired bolts of magical power, but they were cool.

"May I examine one of your wands?" Professor Snape asked; sounding intrigued

I handed over one of the simple magical items I'd made.

"This is not a normal wand, Professor Dumbledore" the reformed dark wizard told his employer "This is an item with magic imbued for a single purpose. An enchanted object rather than a wand as we know it".

I didn't know why he found it impressive, compared to the wand he carried it was extremely limited. Perhaps it was just the novelty of the thing. The unknown could be as attractive as it was scary. Planeswalkers understood this.

"Not much too them really they just fire blasts of magical energy, enough to knock someone down" I said "I made them myself using certain powders, tools and wood. I could teach entire classes to make them. Might be a good back up if they lose their proper wands".

Kind of how like carrying a knife is a good idea even if you already had a gun.

"Unlike a true wand these can be used by anyone" the potion's master was now saying "Only when I picked it up I did feel a connection".

Snape then looked directly at me.

"How much does a wand like this cost?" he asked "I wish to study the difference between it and our own wands".

Considering how easy it would be for to replace I wouldn't charge much. You could buy one for seven silver coins in Stormwind.

"Seven sickles would cover the material cost and labour" I said.

Snape soon handed over exactly seven silver coins, or the local version at least, it was bigger than a silver stag and enchanted in some way. Goblin magic perhaps, this might be why Wizards used these coins they might not be able to transfigure something else into goblin made money. If they could the silver would be worthless.

"I will have Professor Snape accompany you to Diagon Alley. I have list of books and other items that are required by teachers. Also you will need to write up lessons plans, term starts in less than six weeks" the Headmaster told me.

Dumbledore looked bemused for a second.

"Thankfully you don't need to be a quick study" he went on to say "You should be able to get by without knowing much about our magic while here a Hogwarts. And between classes you'll have plenty of time to study what you wish"

That was the plan. I really did need time just to study magic, and this year should be peaceful enough as long as I didn't get involved with the ministry or Voldemort.

"It looks like I have a lot of studying to do" I said

The Headmaster nodded.

"Serverus if you would be so kind to escort our new staff member to Diagon Ally. Speak to Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, Mr Gothic here will be able to rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron until we have made arrangements here" Dumbledore said before turning to me "You should be able to find what you need in Diagon Ally easily enough".

I wasn't given much of a chance to think things over as Snape handed me some floo powder and directed me to use the fireplace in Dumbledore's office to get to Diagon Ally. He even kindly demonstrated how to use Floo travel, well kindly by his standards.

When the fire teleportation thing was over I found myself at the Leaky Cauldron. It seemed taverns were omni-universal, still this one was nicer than the inns scattered all over Westeros.

Professor Snape who had arrived seconds before me was already speaking with the barkeeper, who seemed like a nice enough man in that he was a guy with big side burns rather than that creepy Count Orlok lookalike he seems to be in one of the movies.

"I will meet you back here in exactly two hours to ensure you have everything you need" Snape told me "I will also book a room for you. Do not be gone more than that I will not wait longer".

The potions professor then turned without even waiting for a reply.

(Line Break)

Diagon Ally. Wizarding Britain.

"Greetings, Walker of Worlds. I am Mr. Ollivander. You are here for a wand, yes?" the old and crazy looking person asked from behind the counter "I will be happy to serve, lord".

This made me raise an eyebrow. Of all the people to recognises a Planeswalker on sight and not also be a planeswalker himself, it had to be Ollivander. I wasn't even sure if he was human.

Also I had to wonder about the whole Victorian England cosplay thing everyone had going on around here. This place looked like something out of Charles Dickens. I was half expecting adorable orphans to break out into song as I walked down the street.

Actually after setting up an account at Gringotts I could have done with seeing some adorable orphans, although hopefully without the singing. Goblins were nasty little creatures. Full of greed. Why the people here let them run a bank I would never understand. Had I the mana I might have unleashed a powerful demon from a card and just let it kill them all. Although given that they had dragons within that bank it may not have gone well for me.

"So you're the only guy around here who makes wands?" I asked.

I was wondering because if I could make WOW wands perhaps I could make Wizarding World wands as well. Hopefully there was a book or something on the subject. No doubt it would be a lot more complex than making WOW wands, but I wouldn't be a novice enchanter forever.

"Oh no there are others" he told me "Wandmaking is an art to be sure, but not a talent for me alone".

I soon accepted a wand that was shoved into my hands.

"Eh?" I asked.

At this point I was confused.

"Just wave it around a bit" the wizened wizard explained.

I tried to use it like the horn I'd had back when I was unicorn. Which caused it to explode, which hurt my hand, but thankfully did little other damage.

"Please my Lord. Try not to put too much power into it" I was urged.

It was tempting to ask about how he knew what I was, however there was something in my gut telling me not to. I doubted I'd like the answer.

"Oak, twelve inches with a dragon string heart," the proprietor informed as he handed me a second wand.

Ollivander snatched the wand out of my hand, putting a new one in there just as fast, before I'd even tried anything.

"Birch, ten inches with unicorn horn" he then said.

l waved the wand. The results were somewhat spectacular, just not in the way I'd hoped. Red sparks flew from the wand as it grew too hot to hold, so I dropped it almost immediately.

"You're trying to force too much magic through the wand. It is not safe; the wand can be burned out. And then you will have to do with a replacement that is never as good as your original wand. After all, the wand chooses the wizard" the old man cautioned.

This wand too was soon put away.

"Ah. That almost makes sense" the wand making man muttered to himself "Unicorn hair for certain, but we need something better able to handle your power".

Yet another wand was soon presented too me.

"Twelve inches of Aspen" the mad old man told me "With with a large and thicker strand of unicorn hair. A wand for an accomplished duellist, suited for charm work and martial magic".

That did sound good.

"Now Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic "I was now being informed "However wands with unicorn cores are difficult to turn to the Dark Arts, which can be limiting for a duellist"

Not really an issue for me I rarely used Black Mana.

"They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their owner" I was then told "Normally unicorn hair does not make for the most powerful wands, and they dislike being mishandled. However you seem to have some affinity for unicorns and combined with the Aspen, you have a wand made for adventuring and battling evil".

That did sound suitable for me, and the wand itself even looked more like my unicorn more horn than something made of wood.

"That will be eight galleons and four sickles, if it please you my lord" Ollivander said next "And if in your travels you happen to come across something that would make for a good wand core I would be happy to purchase it from you".

I soon left the store with an odd desire to slam my head against the wall. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoyed what had just happened or if I'd been somewhat traumatised by it.

(Line Break)

Carefully I pushed the door to the bookstore open. Then I walked inside a few steps before I stopped and let the door close behind me as I took in the smell. Candles and dry paper. That was a very nice smell, although it seemed like a big fire waiting to happen.

If I'd gone to Hogwarts as a student I'd have so been a Ravenclaw. I really did love books. Knowledge was worth far more than things like jewels, yet it was not normally something you could touch. Books changed that. You could own the knowledge, treasure it, at least in part.

Seeing as there was nobody in sight to help me find what I sought. I continued further into the store and ventured into the stacks in order to see what I could find.

This place was a gold mine of magical learning and I hummed happily while wandering through the stacks, ignoring the more advanced books for now and continued to the shelf with the sign 'First Year Literature' hanging above.

After taking the book with the imaginative name 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1' from the shelf I started to flip through it. I smiled slightly as I spotted a familiar spell, one that unlocked doors. Here it was, the incantation, wand movement, uses, the intent of the spell. An entire page worth in total.

But no 'how' and 'why does it work' explanation. Frowning slightly I kept flipping through the book. All of the spells were like that. Well, that was not very helpful. I wanted to understand why wand magic worked, what made it so easy to use compared to other forms of spell casting.

Sighing, I closed the book, putting it back on the shelf before I pulled out a charms class books, flipping it open to look though that one instead. Same thing here. How to do the spell, what it did, but not how the spell worked, I closed that one with a small frown as I thought it through.

Well, these were books for beginners. Perhaps expecting them to have pages upon pages explaining exactly how their magic worked was wrong. It was a bit much to ask for a first year book.

Shaking my head I put the charms book back and continued slowly along the shelf, checking the titles for something a bit more informative, or at least something that would give me a bit of firepower. Mana was limited in supply, and while my internal magic didn't really compare to what I could with the cards, it was quicker to access and didn't depend on having enough of, or the right kind of mana.

It didn't take me long before on a new shelf I found a book called 'Magical Duels' that looked promising and I pulled it from the shelf, starting to flip through it, skimming the text.

It talked about how different wand movements and the syllables of the incantation which make up spells, as well how they could be used none verbally.

Slowly nodding to myself I closed it and checked the price. Two Galleons, rather pricey, but likely worth it. It was a good starting point at the very least to learning some battle magic. Even after learning what this book had to offer I'd still be a mere novice compared to the likes of Voldemort and Dumbledore, but there were worlds out there were wand magic would place me high on the pecking order.

On the way to the store's counter I went back and picked up the standard book of spells grade one as well. These would due for now to get a good first look at this magic system. More books I would get from the library at the school.

Next I grabbed a book on potions, as well as what the what the locals called enchantment. Last of all I grabbed The Complete Encyclopedia of Wizarding Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, Spells and Curses, A compendium of some five-hundred-plus spells, compiled by some called Everard Alabastor Underwood.

Nobody was at the front counter so I rang the small bell that was on it. It only took a moment before a tired looking man wandered in from the back room.

"Find everything you need, sir?" he asked in a bored tone of voice.

It made a nice change to not be called Baron or My Lord.

"Yes, thank you. I would like these books" I said.

He nodded and checked their prices.

"That will be twelve Galleons for the lot" he said.

I grimaced slightly and counted it out from my pockets. That was a lot more money than it sounded. Clearly they had printing presses here, otherwise there would be no newspaper, so the books seemed pricey. Perhaps the authors just got paid a lot more in this world.

"Here you go." I said as I handed him the gold.

The wizard nodded.

"Have a nice day." he said before he wandered of again, causing me to frown.

Not the best customer service, he hadn't even offered me a bag, but then again how much business this place get when there isn't the rush for the school books?

If I spent the rest of the year barely getting customers I wouldn't be too energetic either. Plus I'd worked in retail I knew how dull it could get sometimes.

Shaking my head I placed the books in my backpack before peering out into the rain. Hopefully there was an umbrella spell in one of my new books.

As I got outside before I remembered that there were books I needed for teaching my class, and that no one had told me what they were. I could only hope the store clerk knew.

(Line Break)

Hogwarts School. Wizarding World.

Dumbledore had arranged things very quickly. Within days he had set up the new course, no doubt causing much havoc with the timetables. I figured he'd want something in return for all his efforts, perhaps I would give it too him.

"These are your quarters, Professor" Filch said as he opened the door.

I nodded as I walked inside, looking around. It looked comfortable enough. The stone walls had at some point been covered with wooden panels. There were a pair of windows in the furthest wall. Also some paintings on the walls that moved, they would have to go, as I didn't want people spying on me even if they weren't really people. Other than that it was basically a small two room apartment. A living area, a bedroom, and there was actually a bathroom too with modern plumbing, so make that three rooms.

"Thank you, Mr. Filch." I said as I turned to the sourly caretaker

He just grunted, and I was left wondering if I should tip him.

"What about furniture?" I asked.

Moving it in myself would be a pain.

"Call the elves" he said as he motioned towards a bell hanging from a string in the corner next to the door

I had wondered how one summoned a house elf, now I knew.

"Would you like me to show you your classroom now?" he then asked.

I shook my head

"No, that is fine, Mr. Filch. I'm sure you have better things to do than play tour guide" I said.

He nodded and turned to leave before he paused

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Gothic" the squib said, before he closed the door behind him on his way out.

I chuckled to myself.

"Yet another title" I said.

I took another quick look around my quarters, before pushing the door open into the bathroom. It had the usual facilities, as well as one of those fancy baths with several faucets, even another of those damn portraits. Who the hell put one of those in the damn bathroom? It was just creepy.

Quickly I walked over to ring the bell. It took only a moment until a small grey creature with giant eyes was looking up at me

"Yous call Happy, sir?"

He or she, assuming they had gender, didn't look that happy.

"Ah, yes. I need some furniture" I requested.

The entire place needed filling.

"I need a bed and so on" I said "A comfy chair by the fire, a desk if you can fit it in. I'm sure you know what's best".

It wasn't as if I couldn't change things later.

"And I want those portraits removed" I then finished.

The small creature nodded.

"Yes sir. We can does that. What sort furniture do yous want?" she then asked.

I frowned slightly. I had been hoping that the House Elves didn't need precise instructions.

"Something that goes with the dark wood on the walls, and it must be comfortable. A large bed, some chairs, a table, some bookshelves. You know, the usual? Oh, and a comfy chair by the fire. Must have a comfy chair".

The house elf nodded quickly and snapped its fingers, causing the portraits to float off the walls and shrink down to nothing before the elf took them popped out.

What followed that was a flurry of house-elves popping in with furniture for me to approve and tell them where to put them.

In all honestly, once it was all over I collapsed into my new comfy chair, feeling slightly overwhelmed. I might be used to magic by now, but the house-elves were less like happy servants and more like small grey cleaning versions of Pinky Pie, at least in terms of energy levels.

"Yous have anything you wants now Professor?" Happy then asked me.

I soon nodded

"Yes Happy, to start with, thank you very much for your help" I said before making my request "I could use a nice cup of tea. Milk with two sugars if you please".

The elf nodded happily and popped out. A second later she popped back in carrying a tray with sandwiches, a slice of cake, and a pot of tea upon it. She/he or it put it all on the small table next to my chair and then popped back out.

I looked at the spot where the elf had disappeared before I sighed. Then I cursed my morals and ethics. Being able to summon a house-elf at all times would have been literally the best thing ever, but I would not allow myself to do so. Putting someone in a card for a trip was one thing and I didn't mind enslaving evil beings like White Walkers, but House Elves were too nice to keep in a card only to bring out when I needed something done.

Deciding that I had time to do some reading before arranging my class I took out the book on battle magic and started to read. I had lot of studying to do. I intended to become a very powerful magic user, nothing short of a god and to do that I had to gain knowledge. Wand magic would help with that.


	27. Wizarding World 2

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Wizarding World 2**

 **Quiddich Pitch. Hogwarts School.**

After hiring someone called Wilkie Twycross to teach me apparition it had just been a matter of finding somewhere for the lessons. Thankfully this was easily sorted, the pitch was used to teach older students how to magical teleport, rather than the great hall like in the books, so all I had was to rent the space. I assumed Dumbledore could do something to make it possible for people to apparate within certain parts of the school for a set time.

As I understood it Apparition was a magical method of transportation and was basically travelling by having a focus on a desired location in the mind, then disappearing from the current location and instantly reappearing at the desired location; in short, it was a form of teleportation. It was quick, but disastrous if botched up, which is why I'd hired a professional to teach me. Books on the subject could only get a person so far.

According to Wilkie Twycross, the Ministry of Magic official and Apparition Instructor, to use apparition successfully one had but to recall The Three D's: Destination, Determination and Deliberation. One must be completely determined to reach one's destination, and move without haste, but with deliberation.

He also told me that Apparition can cause an audible noise ranging from a small faint pop to a loud crack that may sound to Muggles like a car backfiring. So it wasn't very subtle, but I really did need to learn how to teleport.

"Now Apparition does have a range limit" Mr Twycross told me as he placed hoops on the ground "and it becomes increasingly difficult with the distance to be travelled. Inter-continental Apparition should only be attempted by the most highly skilled of wizards. otherwise you risking severe injury and even death".

Mostly I wanted to learn to teleport to escape danger. When it came to long journeys I could aways summon a steed. I made many kinds in my cards.

"Apparition requires a great knowledge of the place the wizard wants to visit, as you need to be able to visualise it clearly" I was now being told "This will be simple at first as you will only be apparting into these hoops which you can plainly see before you".

Easier said then done.

"A variant of Apparition is used to transport two or more individuals at once" Twycross was now telling me "This is called Side-Along Apparition. This method may be used by adults seeking to transport underage wizards, or in some cases a licenced individual may use this method to transport an injured party. To perform this version of Apparition, the more able wizard Apparates with the other wizard holding onto their arm. For the party who is unable to Apparate, they must hold onto the other as tightly as possible. This method is recommended by the Ministry of Magic for parents with underage children to escape from danger quickly".

I already read that in a book, it didn't really help to hear it spoken.

"While it is physically possible to Apparate without a licence, it is not advisable, because injury can result" Twycross warned "Splinching can occur when one has insufficient determination to reach one's goal, causing certain body parts to fail to arrive at the destination with the rest of the wizard. In cases of unlicensed Apparition when injury results, the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad can level heavy fines. In cases where splinching occurs, if the victim has not been treated properly, the injury can be much more serious".

I had plenty of power, so I wasn't worried about being unable to Apparate, what worried me was doing it badly and getting hurt. I'd have to look into medical potions just in case something went wrong. My healing cards seemed to be able to fix anything, but I wasn't sure about lost limbs so I would have to be careful.

"Now let us begin the lesson" Twycross said "Focus on the hoop closet to you and remember Destination, Determination and Deliberation".

Well here went nothing.

(Line Break)

Classroom. Hogwarts School.

Until now I'd been wearing leather and cotten, as those materials could be easily be enchanted, now I wore a proper suit. One of many muggle suits I had in my chambers. I wanted to make a good impression. Not that I had anyone to impress yet.

Currently I stood in the middle of my classroom, or what soon would be my classroom, and looked around. Wooden floor, stone walls, windows on each side. Pretty basic.

The stairs to my office was behind my desk and the door to enter the classroom was in the opposite wall to it. I was pretty sure that this was the same classroom used by Glidory Lockhart in the second Harry Potter movie only with almost everything taken out. Thankfully for my students I wouldn't be unleashing pixies upon them.

"Happy?" I asked the empty air and the elf popped out of nowhere.

I'd already discovered that if you knew a House Elf's name you could summon them with it. Which in my view was another valid reason not to go around giving people your real name. I for one did not want to end up popping up in odd places every time someone wanted my help.

"Happy help, sir?" the magical creature asked me.

I nodded as I eyed the closest desk. It was made from brown wood and was just about wide enough for two people to share it. This wouldn't do for a class that involved practical work. They would need more elbow room. Plus there weren't enough desks anyway. I wasn't expecting to have a lot of students, but it was best to be prepared.

This class was for OWL students, an optional course like Care of Magical creatures and Ancient Runes. Only there was no NEWT level, which was why I doubted I would have that many students. Having me teach was part of deal Dumbledore and I had made. I was sure the real reason he'd gone to all this trouble was because he thought he could use me against Voldemort somehow. He was wrong about that.

"Are we allowed to change the furniture in our classrooms?" I then asked the small house elf.

The tiny creature nodded

"Yes sir. Just says what yous want and elfs take care of it" I was informed.

I nodded.

"Each student needs to have their own desk, and replace the chairs with stools" I ordered.

Most of the time they'd be grinding powder, making inks and otherwise working with their hands. They'd be standing up while doing this so stools would be better.

"Happy will find. Anything else, sir?" the creature asked, once it and more of its kind had refurbished the classroom.

I'd returned to Stormwind yet again, taking with one of those chests that were much bigger on the inside so I could stuff it full of everything needed for enchanting and inscriptions. As such I would be providing the equipment and materials for the class.

"Not at the moment, Happy. Thank you for all your help," I said while glancing around.

The elf smiled happily and popped out. Leaving me to think. While leaning against my desk, I crossed my arms in thought.

One problem with taking this post: I would actually need to teach. Putting together the lesson planes was a female dog. Everyone over the next year was going to start off doing the same thing, preparing materials for enchantment as well as making simple items.

That was easy enough but the fifth years, Potter's class, had their OWLs this year so they would need to learn everything for the exam. An exam both written and practical that I would have to create. Also I had create a end of year exam to grade everyone not doing an OWL even though those grades meant next to nothing if I didn't come back to teach next year. Which was unlikely as already this world was annoying me.

All this trouble, Dumbledore must really be desperate for powerful allies.

I pushed off the desk and started to make my way towards the door, nodding in approval at the change of furniture in the main room. It was much better.

Now for a quick look around the castle and then to the library to see if I could find some books to for my own studies.

(Line Break)

Headmaster's Office. Hogwarts School.

The old man had called a staff meeting today, likely to introduce me. This meeting was cutting into my lesson planning time as well as research time, but it couldn't be helped as while teaching was just a way to get access to the library for my own research, I'd been hired to do a job and I would do it to the best of my ability. My own research would have to wait.

"First of all I would like to introduce two new additions to our staff," Dumbledore said from the head of the table. "Mr. Gothic will be teaching a new course 'Enchantment and Inscription' and Madame Umbridge will be taking over Defence"

I tried not to stare at the pink clad abomination across the table from me. She did not look like she did in the movies, she was fatter and shorter with a wide mouth. The books had it right, she really looked like a toad. Perhaps she was some weird human/toad hybrid, it would explain her hate towards half breeds, people often hate about others what they despise most about themselves.

Umbridge cleared her throat before speaking. I was surprised she didn't go 'ribbit'

"The Ministry thought that it was past time the students got proper education in such an important subject" she said.

I looked at her for a moment, and started plotting to murder her.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Gothic," Flitwick said from his place to my right "I don't remember you, did you go to a different school?.

I glanced at Dumbledore for a slit second, but I didn't get any clue from him so I simply made something up.

"Home-schooled, mostly. But do not worry, Professor Flitwick. I am older than I look and more than qualified to teach my class. I am after all inventing it".

The half goblin smiled.

"Please, call me Filius" he requested.

I nodded in response.

"And I'm just Gothic" I replied.

Umbridge looked at me from across the table

"Where exactly are you from, Mr. Gothic?" she asked

I soon came up with something else to say.

"Various places, Madame." I said, giving her my best smile "I picked up my education and the knowledge of my subject while travelling around the world. Although I'm actually Welsh by birth".

The rest of the meeting was somewhat dull. Discussions about the budget, changes to school rules and other boring stuff. Then there was paperwork being handed out. I guessed that some things really are universal not matter what reality you're in.

I leaned back in my chair and then frowned slightly in thought. Umbridge might need to be handled. As long as she did not become too annoying, I could play along. But if she went too far she'd disappear somewhere.

"Headmaster, there is one more issue to discuss" I said as the meeting started to come to an end. "I noticed that in the rules it states that all homework and essays are to be written with a quill?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes?" he asked.

This one of the things that really made no sense.

"Seems odd" I said "Why not allow the use of ballpoint pens as well? It makes writing easier and you don't end up with ink being spilled. It will be easier for muggleborns as well. No one one in the muggle world uses quills anymore, haven't for decades".

Certain kinds of tech didn't work here for reasons, but that only applied to electronics, so there was no reason why they couldn't use proper pens.

"You know, I think Professor Gothic has a point, Headmaster," said a relatively young teacher who I knew to be Sinistra, the astronomy woman. "Everyone who has taught first years knows how bad their penmanship is, not to mention their spelling and grammar. If we could at least remove the mess caused by them being unused to writing with quills, it would be a lot easier to read their work and grade it more fairly".

She'd summed it up very nicely for me.

"Quills are traditional," Umbridge injected. "We do not need muggle artifacts".

I resisted the urge to curse the woman. Mostly because currently I didn't know that many wand spells.

"Beating students could also be called traditional" I argued "Just because something is traditional that doesn't make it right. Besides Muggles most likely invented the quill".

Maybe I could get away with not giving any homework? It would make things easier for me.

"I believe that while quills are traditional, perhaps giving them the option to use either quills or these 'pens' wouldn't be so bad" said Dumbledore "I will leave it for each teacher to decide if students should have this option in their class".

Since school hadn't started yet I could go out and buy loads of pens for my students to use. I'd have to at least give them some essays to write. Heck while I was out I could pick up a type writer, bet that would annoy Umbitch no end.

(Line Break)

Great Hall. Hogwarts School.

"Fillus, I have no idea how you can drink that stuff." I commented as the Charms teacher sipped his pumpkin juice.

The half human put his goblet down and smiled slightly

"I usually don't. But today it reminds me of when I attended Hogwarts for the first time as a student" he said.

My drink of choice was just water. Butterbeer, pumpkin juice, Exploding lemonade, Bubble Juice, Fishy Green Ale, all needed to be made illegal.

Rather than discuss this subject further I watched as Mcgonagall stood up and walked over to the hat on the small seat in front of the teachers table. The sorting was about to begin.

I didn't pay much attention to it, instead I spent the time studying the students.

There were about equal amounts of children between all four houses but with somewhat more kids on the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff side of the room. I would guess that most muggleborns ended up in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. You do after all need to be quite brave to leave your old world behind, as for the Hufflepuffs well wizards and witches were very lazy compared to muggles, and the Puff house valued hard workers.

I really should take a look at what kind of introduction muggleborns usually get to the Wizarding World. Given they arrived at the age of 11 they must get told about magic when they leave primary school. Was there like a wizard careers adviser?

As the last student was sorted and Dumbledore stood up to give his speech.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry." The headmaster was saying. "First of all, you should know that Professor Grubby-Plank has returned to teach Care for Magical Creatures as Professor Hagrid is otherwise occupied for this term. Also I would also like to introduce two new additions to our staff".

Now eyes were upon me. I didn't like it.

"Professor Gothic will be teaching a new course called 'Enchantment and Inscriptions', it is open to third, fourth and fifth years, as an OWL as you wish. Please see your head of house for details" he went on to say "Professor Umbridge will take over Defence against the Dark Arts this year".

We both got some hesitant applause and some very suspicious looks from certain parts of the Gryffindor table as the students murmured to each other.

Honestly, I didn't blame them. They had reasons to be suspicious about new teachers at this school. They usually were not who they pretended to be.

"Further more, The Forbidden Forest continue to be forbidden, no matter what some senior students might" Dumbledore continued as soon as the hesitant applauding died down.

Only he was interrupted by an 'Ehem' from the pink wearing toad like witch.

I resisted the urge to rest my head against the table as she stood up to start her speech about how the ministry needed to make sure everyone got a proper education. I was a bloody Planeswalker, a race worshipped as gods at one time, and even I did not have the ego of that self important bag of slime. Never mind that I had significantly better manners. Could she not at least have waited until Dumbledore was finished with his speech?

Sighing slightly I took another sip from my water as I watched the waste of oxygen croak out more of her propaganda. I could not stand her, at all. But no, I would not chop of her head with Winter's Bane, no matter how satisfying it would be. If only because it traumatise the first years, and more importantly get me sacked.

Sometimes it would be much, much easier to be evil. Not to mention more fun. Bloody morals.

(Line Break)

Classroom. Hogwarts.

I'd gotten behind of my magical research due to visiting the Seven Kingdoms, when in retrospect I should have stayed in Canterlot, and now that I had a chance to study what was really some broken magic I'd equipped myself with some tools to aid in studying.

One of the things I'd picked up while here in the Wizarding World was a version of the Quick Notes Quill. It basically recorded what people said for later reference, making it easy to take notes.

What was odd was that I hadn't used it yet, but there was a page full of notes. Upon closer inspection I found that it recorded a conversation.

Ron W: I wonder what Professor Gothic is gonna do to try and kill Harry this year.

Hermione G: Ron! That's awfully rude, not every new teacher has tried to kill him.

Ron W: Werewolf-Lupin did. And Lockheart would've wiped our minds clean, that's a kind of murder too if you think about it.

Hermione G: That wasn't Lupin's fault!

Ron W: He still tried to kill Harry, whether he wanted to or not. I'm just saying.

Hermione G: Because of a condition he has little or no control over! And under those circumstances it's not like he was specifically after Harry!

Harry P: She's got a point. If I'd not been there Lupin would have just as quickly gone after you two, or anyone else nearby.

Ron W: Fine. Fine!

Harry P: Fake Moody, you know he wasn't actually out to kill me. He was going to leave that to Voldemort.

Hermione G: I didn't actually think of that.

Harry P: And Lockhart wasn't as bad, he didn't really want to hurt me.

Ron W: Oh come on, you can't possibly be defending him.

Harry P: Think about it. For all his faults, what if the Chamber had remained closed? Would he have tried to do anything to us?

Hermione G: The year would have ended, he would have resigned, and probably written a new best-seller about his time as a teacher at a prestigious school, telling everyone what a stellar job he had done but that a life of adventure called him away.

Harry P: Exactly.

Ron W: Okay, I can see that. He was an incompetent tosser-

Hermione: Ron, language!

Ron W: Okay, a fraud, but not out from the start to kill Harry.

Harry P: So. Two out of four have been out to kill me, sort of. And two out four have tried to kill me due to unexpected circumstances out of their control. And don't forget they were all DADA teachers.

Ron W: Still not liking those odds, mate.

Harry P: But still. Something about him doesn't quite seem right. He didn't really seem like he fit up there, with the other teachers I mean. Seemed a bit out of it, honestly.

Hermione G: Maybe he is new to teaching. I mean, no one seems to have heard anything about him good or bad. So maybe Professor Gothic isn't actually malicious.

Harry P: Not sure that can be said about the toad-woman.

Hermione G: Honestly Harry, she has a name.

Harry P: We need to watch both of them.

Hermione G: What?

Harry P: We need to watch out for both of them. Gothic and Umbridge.

Hermione G: Oh alright. Now let's get the Tower before anyone notices were gone.

So they'd come to the classroom, but into not the study, otherwise they'd have noticed the quill. Then they decided that I was more worth worrying that toad woman. This was not off to a great start.

(Line Break)

Office. Hogwarts.

Out of all damn classes I could have started with, it just had to be this one didn't it. I could have sworn the first class of the term for Potter had always been Potions, but I likely remembered it wrong.

Not that it really mattered, I had no idea if it was canon or not. It was close enough not to matter though. They looked liked the actors and actresses who played them in the movies, and from what I'd been able to gather events so far had gone as in the films. Which was a bit boring really. Still some thing could be different.

As I looked in the mirror I checked out the expensive dark suit I'd chosen for today. I looked good, it made me wonder if any of the female students would get crushes on me. Not that I'd do anything about it, but it would be an ego boost.

Taking one last look around my office, I took a deep breath before pushing the door open. While walking down the stairs towards the classroom, I gave the students a look. The one that told them 'I am in charge and you better do what I bloody say, or else'.

It worked in Westeros. It would work in a damn classroom.

"Wands away." I ordered as they started to quieten down when they saw me "There will be no wand waving in my classroom, no books, only practical lessons and note taking".

Not a sound was heard. This was good.

"My name is Gothic. You will address me as Sir, Professor or Teacher. I do not particularly care which. I am here to show you how to enchant things in ways you have never heard of before. If you do not intend to learn what I teach, you might as well leave now" I said to the group

The class was mostly Gryffindors and they all wanted to be here since this wasn't a mandatory courses. For this class it was OWL exams this year so by taking this class they were taking a risk of failing due to not having enough lesson time to learn.

Of course it helped that Enchantment was now an alternative to Divination. No doubt those classes were going to get smaller in the future.

"Am I making myself clear?" I then asked.

They soon replied.

"Yes Professor" the class chorused.

I nodded in approval.

"Good. Now I have no problems with helping anybody having trouble, but you will have to put an effort into learning. For the most part, I won't hand out any homework other than the odd essay, and those will be few".

That got a reaction. There were excited whispers while Hermione looked positively outraged. Harry, he was giving me suspicious looks. I didn't blame him for that. Ron looked like Christmas just came early. The rest of the class were just background characters I didn't care much about.

"Instead, I'm going to require something much harder from you." I then continued "You're actually going to do something useful in enchantment class".

That caused whispers.

"Any questions?" I then asked.

Hermione stuck her hand up after a second. Somehow I was not surprised.

"Miss...Granger, was it?" I asked.

Like I'd miss her out.

"Yes sir. No homework at all, sir, aside from the odd essay?" she asked in what was almost horror "This is our OWL year".

I nodded

"Yes, it is. This is why it's important that we focus more on the practical aspects. The exam will mostly be practical, with the written part being less important. You see over the course of the year you will learn to make enchantments from recipes. Enchantment is much like potions in that respect, only less messy and you might actually gain house points".

That didn't get even a chuckle. Oh well.

"Anyway to pass the OWL you will need to create a new kind of enchanted item, this can simple be a modification of an existing item I have the repice for. Or if you want an Outstanding you can try for something totally knew. The practical part of this exam will be creating the item in front of the examiners while the written part will explains how you created it. This will make more sense as the year progresses I promise".

I then looked around at the confused faces.

"Any other questions?" I asked.

Silence. Either I'd made a good impression and they were sure they'd soon understand, or I'd looked like a complete loon and they were wondering what kind of mess they'd gotten into.

"Now we'll start with the powders and tools used for enchantment" I said as the lesson finally started.

(Line Break)

Office. Hogwarts School.

I collapsed into the comfy chair in my office. Teaching was surprisingly stressful. Just one class today and I was beat. Thank the old gods and the new that I only had three classes a week.

This not only freed me for more research it would also allow to spend time helping students as required. Plus there were some other duties, patrolling the corridors after curfew, that sort of thing. I was sure I'd be roped into doing that before long.

"Happy?" I asked the empty air.

The elf soon appeared.

"Professor called for Happy?" he/she or it asked.

I nodded.

Could I have some tea, please?" I requested.

The elf quickly nodded, before popping out again. The elf soon returned with both tea and sandwiches. I could have headed down to the Great Hall for dinner but honestly, I couldn't be arsed to move.

Hopefully I would adapt to this teaching thing sooner rather than later. Honestly being a noble in the Seven Kingdoms was less work than this.


	28. Wizarding World 3

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Wizarding World 3**

 **Hogwarts School.**

It was up on the walls already.

"Educational Decree the first of many" I muttered to myself "Dolores Jane Umbridge is here by appointed to the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor".

We found out at a staff meeting late last night, but it was different seeing it on the wall and not simply written on Umbridge's stupid, ugly, smug face.

So it had started, and only two weeks into term, and this showed that The Ministry would do nothing about Mouldyshorts, even going to this kind of length to avoid doing so. It was almost like they were actually working with him.

But no this wasn't malice, this was stupidity. It was Fudge and his cronies, clinging to power and terrified out of their minds at the idea that the Dark Lord might be back. Or that's what I hoped for if the government was already under the Dark Lord's control then the people here were screwed.

Perhaps I would kill Voldemort myself and just spare everyone the trouble to come. Somehow I got the idea that even after another Wizarding War this nation of fools wouldn't change much, so why let people die needlessly?

On the other hand I wasn't here to fix everyone else's problems. I'd gotten involved too much in Westeros, and granted that had most worked out, at least so far. However here I might just make things worse.

I shook my head and walked into the Great Hall for some breakfast. It was all kind of pathetic to be honest. Powerful Dark Lord or not, immortal or not he was just one man.

At the height of his power he had perhaps a couple of hundred Wizards on his side against a population of many thousands. The fact that they let him run around like they did, combined with the general policies of the rest of the ministry showed they were almost as bad as Voldemort in my mind.

Mind you I was sure that people thought that about Hilter, why didn't the people in Germany, most of which wouldn't have been hard core Nazis, rise up an rip him apart?

Sighing I sat down by the teachers table, and poured myself a cup of tea. At least there are some people trying to do something about it. Dumbledore had his Order, but the Headmaster believed that only Harry Potter could end the threat of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters, which was sort of correct. But there was no reason they couldn't deal with Mouldyshort's minions.

Tom Riddle wouldn't be much of a threat if it was just him. And he could be contained. Certainly not in a normal prison, but there had to be away he could locked up safely.

Maybe I trick him into picking up a card, like how I done to one of the White Walkers.

As I bit into some toast I stopped worrying about that, as it wasn't really my problem. I had issues of my own to deal with. Today my class was being inspected.

(Line Break)

Crossing my arms I tried to ignore the pink abomination that had decided to review my class. And of course she'd picked when Potter was here. And of course it was my class she started with. Of course it was this class. What else would I expect? The multiverse hated me.

As everyone started to get into their seats I couldn't help but wonder if this kind of thing just happened to me or if it was something that was part of being a Planeswalker. Where there other super human versions of me out there who got harems and awesome powers without having to deal with people like Umbitch?

I rubbed my eyebrow slightly as the last student got into her seat before I stood up fully.

"Students. We have a guest today" I started by saying "Madame Umbridge is going to observe our class so its important to try to do what you would normally do so that she can see how our classes run. Now, if everyone would like to begin we can start work on our back up wands. Now like I told you before these wands are not true wands, they only fire weak blasts of magical energy barely enough to knock someone over, although hitting a person multiple times can do some real harm. These wands can be handy if you are disarmed, and lose your real wand. This way you can still fight".

That was when I heard the dreaded "Ehem" from the thing sitting in the chair by the door

"I'm sorry if I misunderstood you, Professor Gothic" Umbridge said "But it almost sounded like you think somebody could attack them?"

I closed my eyes for a moment before I turned to her.

"It has been known to happen" I said "not everyone follows the rule of law".

I had no intention of getting into a debate on this subject, but I'd had to respond with something.

"Nobody will attack them. The Aurors keep everyone safe." she answered with a sickly sweet smile.

'Yes, Madame. I'm sure the Aurors will pop out the walls to keep you safe if I tried to dismember you' was what I wanted to say.

"Yes, the Ministry does an admirable job keeping the population of magical Britain safe. But even the most skilled aurors can not be everywhere at once. Besides these wands are being created as part of a class project, I doubt they will ever actually be needed" was what I actually said.

Hopefully they wouldn't be. A simple shield charm would stop them.

"Well, I suppose..." Umbridge started before she was interrupted by a voice.

"We are going to need them" the the Chosen One said "Voldemort is out there".

Right now we were only seconds into the lesson, and already I wanted to strangle one of my students.

"Mr. Potter, I have warned you about spreading your lies..." Umbridge said as she stood up "De..."

That was as far as she got before I butted in.

"Madame Umbridge, if you would be so kind as to allow me to enforce discipline in my own classroom" I said.

Thankfully she back off.

"Mr. Potter, don't interrupt my class, this is a practical lesson you need to remain focused on your work. Remember you have until the end of the school to be ready for the Enchantment and Inscription OWL".

This did not calm things down.

"But he is back!" Harry exclaimed, while rushing to his feet "I saw him!".

Of course I knew Voldemort was back, but with toad woman in the room I could hardly say that. Not without risking my job and therefore access to the library. I'd barely started to research. Heck I was still learning to apparate, although I was close to perfecting the act.

"I didn't see what you saw Mr. Potter" I finally said "Nor do I care, this is a classroom, and therefore not the place for you to yell at people. I'm taking away 5 points from your house".

This was not going to be fun.

"Professor Gothic, I do not think that..." Umbridge started to say.

I interrupted her again.

"Madame I would not be so rude as to undermine your authority in your classroom, please extend me the same courtesy" I said.

Umbridge looked unhappy but nodded. Potter however was not finished. Seriously, was the boy dense? I was trying to save his skin here.

"I know what I saw, Professor" he said, glaring at both me and Umbridge in turn.

Oh bloody hell.

"That will be detention then, Mr. Potter" I said with a small sigh "Now sit down and get on with your work".

Thank the old gods and the new that he sat back down.

(Line Break)

Office. Hogwarts.

That evening there was a knock at my door.

"Come in," I said, while putting my teacup down.

The door pushed open and Harry Potter walked inside.

"I'm here for my detention, Professor?" he said, looking around.

My office was still kind of empty, but I had put some books onto my bookshelf for easy access, and some swords up on the walls. It was an old castle, the elves was able to dig up tons of the things. Which was good because I needed to stay ahead of my students, as such it helped to have things to practice enchanting upon.

"Are you stupid?" I asked the student "Or were you trying to get me fired?".

Potter blinked in surprise.

"Professor?" he asked.

I let out what I really wanted to say.

"You've had people trying to kill you since your first year here, and what do you do with your time? You learn barely anything beyond what the classes teach. You take a pointless classes like Divination instead of classes that can help you. What I understand is that with the amount of money you have, why haven't you hire a retired Auror to tutor you?".

That just one option he had.

"The answer Mr. Potter, is that you are stupid and lazy, for any other teenager that is normal, for one that seems to have a 'kill me' sign on his back and wants to be treated as an adult that is just down right mad".

I had more to say.

"You want people to believe you about Voldemort? Saying you saw him isn't going to get anyone to believe you, you need proof or you might as well go around telling people that Santa Claus is real. I mean come on you have truth serums, and pensives, find a way to get proof, or in the end its just your word against the ministry".

Still I wasn't done.

"And what in the world were you thinking going on about What's-His-Face in front of Madame Umbridge?" I asked, while giving him an annoyed look.

He frowned.

"Because he is back. It doesn't matter if you deny it, Professor. It is the truth. I know what I saw" he stated.

I stared at him for a moment.

"Of course, the git is back!" I finally said. "That's not what I asked. What in the world were you thinking going on about him for in front of Umbridge!?"

Harry looked confused.

"But you said...," he started to say.

I interrupted him. It was either that or I'd hit him if he kept talking.

"Of course, I said what I said" I replied "I don't want to get fired!".

I had three square meals a day, plus supper, loads of books to read, a roof over my head, and no one wanted me to march off to war with them. Well not yet anyway.

Really I should have stayed in Smallville. Heck I should have stayed with mini Catwoman and risked going dark. She could have been a cool sidekick as we cleansed Gotham of corruption. No correct that I should have stayed in Canterlot, changelings and dark unicorns were easy to handle compared to Harry Potter.

"Do you know why Umbridge is here?" I asked in annoyance.

Potter frowned.

"To increase the Ministry's influence over Hogwarts" he said.

That was Granger speaking, but at least he listened to hear.

"Not quite. That is secondary. Her main purpose for being at Hogwarts is to weaken the Headmaster's position. And you are making it easier for her by doing what you did today," I explained, while leaning back in my chair "She might go beyond that and take over the entire school, so making her mad at you isn't wise".

This didn't soothe the fool.

"But nobody is doing anything! People need to know!" he exclaimed loudly. "Not even Dumbledore is doing anything!"

At this point I did slam my head into the table, which admittedly didn't help.

"Just get out of my sight?" I ordered.

He turned to leave, only to turn to face me.

"Professor?" he asked me, "Are you a member of The Order?"

I felt the sudden urge to beat him with a chair.

"No, I am not, Mr. Potter. And perhaps you should be more careful about who you talk to about 'secret' vigilante organisations?"I answered with a small sigh.

This was the saviour of the wizarding world?

They were all doomed. DOOMED!

"Potter come back tomorrow" I ordered him "Clearly someone needs to teach you a few things".

He just nodded, and then left.

(Line Break)

Private Room. Hogwarts School.

Since this old castle was a good source of blue mana, which was the mana of knowledge, that a school produced an excess of the stuff was hardly surprising.

Currently I was demonstrating my ability to summon creatures to the Headmaster. I'd conjured up Alchemist's Apprentice, a human creature, or at least something that looked like a human. It was a construct really.

"He isn't really alive" I explained to Albus (to many middle names) Dumbledore "Its a golum more than anything else".

Somehow I didn't think the term 'hard light hologram' would mean anything to the Headmaster.

"He.. well it, will follow my instructions" I then told the old man.

I figured Alchemist's Apprentice was meant to assist me outside of battle, but I didn't use alchemy so the card wasn't of any value you to me. Other than it didn't cost much mana and made for a safe demonstration.

"Basically I take mana, and use the cards as a template of sort, like a blueprint, and create what I need" I told the old wizard.

Naturally I wasn't going to tell him everything. Like that I didn't produce the cards, or how limited I was without them, but some exchange of information was fine with me.

"So you were saying your magic come from areas of land?" Dumbledore asked, going back to something I'd mentioned before.

I nodded and leaned back against my chair, after dismissing Alchemist's Apprentice, and taking a sip from my tea. Which I seemed to be drinking a lot of these days. I really needed the caffeine for teaching.

The Headmaster and I were in a private room. One that has been emptied of portraits and mirrors at my request. While I didn't mind Dumbledore learning a bit of how my magic worked, I didn't want it to become public knowledge and people in those moving pictures could move about, even enter other frames. Which meant everything they heard could be spread about the school very quickly.

"Different kinds of mana, the specific energy that make up the magic I use, come from different kinds of lands" I explained, and not for the first time "And they are used for different kinds of magic and they affect the user as well".

Thankfully I'd not been foolish enough to keep using one kind of mana. Generally I just used what I could get my hands on. I'd been using blue mana recently and recurring themes of blue mana were illusion over reality, nurture over nature, thought over action, reason over passion, and the future over the past or present. Which might explain why I was spending so much time planning things and less time actually doing stuff. I would need to go down to the Forbidden Forest soon and get some green or black mana, it depended on what it produced.

"For example, Red mana comes from mountains and is used for Fire magic. It is also the colour of emotion, destruction and impulse. Users of red mana tend to be impulsive and not think things through before they do it." I explained before I frowned slightly in thought "In your view, they would be sorted in Gryffindor".

The old wizard chuckled and made a note on his parchment

"And what colour are you using?" he asked.

I smiled slightly

"All. What kind of mana you have access to effects your mind and emotions. Only way to keep your balance is to use them all, or at least a few different types. Using one kind of mana is a route to madness. But I generally use white and green. They are connected to Order and Nature, but its more complex than that".

He nodded slowly

"I see. Your kind of magic sounds dangerous" he then said.

Oh he had no idea.

"It is." I answered before I put my tea down "Black Mana is something I have used very little of thankfully. But other kinds of mana can be just as lethal to your enemies".

Dumbledore looked disturbed by this point

"I.. prefer not to kill at all." he finally said,

While given what had happened to his sister I understood why. I didn't agree with his choice but I could empathise.

"So do I, but sometimes, you do not have a choice. For example, your Dark Lord. Do you think he should be locked up? Would it even be possible? Could you risk him escaping?" I asked "Someone has to kill him or he'll keep killing".

The old wizard sighed slowly

"I refuse to kill or to encourage others to. The taking of a life is a heavy burden to carry" he stated.

Me I'd indirectly killed hundreds by now. Granted I'd only set out to kill White Walkers, but sometimes I did think about the times I'd sent magical creatures into battle with Stark's armies. And about how my magical objects made it easier for the Northern men to kill. Thankfully the battles of that war had resulted in the enemy running away rather than being slaughtered.

"It is a burden that needs to be carried" I finally said to the old man "Some people and creatures can't be reasoned with or restrained, at least not in the long term".

We were quiet for a long moment as I sipped at my cooling tea, thinking about the White Walkers, which were just one of many threats within the multi-verse. I didn't want to got around dealing with these threats, but on the other hand I wasn't okay with simply ignoring them.

Could you defeat Voldemort?" Dumbledore finally asked.

I slowly nodded

"With some time to plan I'm sure I could" I said "But I won't".

All I'd have to disable him long enough to drag him into the Void. I could leave hunting down the Horcruxs to Dumbles.

"May I ask why?" Dumbledore asked "He tortures, he murders. Why would you leave him be?"

I had my reasons. Many in fact.

"You do not want me to become involved" I told the headmaster.

Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"Why not he?" he asked

I looked at him for a moment before I put my cup back down, having finished the tea

"Because to my way of seeing things a lot of your people are nearly as bad as your Dark Lord. There's massive corruption in your government, prejudice against muggleborns, shameful treatment of the other magical race. If I decided to go after Riddle, I'm not sure I'd stop with him. I'd kill all the Death Eaters at least, or at least as many as I could find.

That wasn't all I had to say.

"If he comes after me I will smack him down. But I will not go out and hunt your Dark Lord" I then said.

The Headmaster stared at me for a moment before he slowly nodded

"I... see" Dumbledore said slowly "You have given me much to think about".

Now I had the horrible feeling he was going to try get Voldemort to come after me. I might actually have to do some violence.

(Line Break)

The Chamber of Secrets. Hogwarts School.

"Professor what are we doing down here?" Potter asked as I examined the dead basilisk.

The remains were just bone. Yet the monster had only died a few years ago. It should still be rotting, or least there should be something more left than the bones. There weren't even any teeth marks on the creature so I didn't think anything had eaten the meat of the monster. Also it seemed oddly clean around here.

"Well I didn't think anyone will be able hear us down here" I answered "And really I wanted to see this Chamber. I figured there might be some stuff down here from a thousand years ago. Looks like someone cleaned up".

Potter looked around.

"It was a lot nastier down here when I saved Ginny" Potter told me "Maybe the House Elves cleaned up".

Well that would explain the lack of mess, but it didn't explain what had stripped the monster down the literal bare bones. Still it hardly mattered I just needed to be creative with my cards so I could get enough black mana to summon a necromancer who could bring the monster back to life, or maybe do it myself if I could.

Assuming of course that I was able to trap a dead creature in a card. Naturally I couldn't do that in front of Harry. I'd have to figure out another way to get down here without him. Should it work it would make for one of a trump card, so to speak.

"Anyway I brought you down here because clearly you need help preparing for Voldemort" I said to Potter "For starters I suggest setting up your own unofficial duelling club. I doubt Umbridge is teaching you anything useful, and since you control the way into this chamber its secure, or so I had thought".

Potter looked surprised by the suggestion.

"Me start a club?" he asked "Why not you?"

Clearly Granger hadn't suggested it yet.

"Because I have no experience fighting dark wizards" I told the Boy-Who-Lived "nor do I know many combat spells".

At least none he could learn. WOW spells were sort of downloaded into your mind. Teaching Enchantment was much easier because it was a skill, anyone could do it as long as they had some magical power.

"I'm sure if you offer some students a place in the group they will join" I was now saying "and you can get the books you need from the library. Just don't put down anything on paper. You don't want any records".

Potter didn't say anything. He kept looking at the skeleton. Bad memories no doubt.

"Anything you want to ask?" I wondered.

The lad returned to the present.

"Do you have any advice? About what we should look at, I mean in the books?" was his question.

I thought for a moment

"First, focus on learning say six spells. Master them so they are second nature to you. Two defencive, four offencive. For defence you need a good shield and a spell to let you hide, that sort of thing" I suggested "Offencive spells should be fast and effective. It is better to know a few, good spells that you know by heart and can cast quickly with great accuracy than to have an entire library of spells in your head and not be sure which one to use".

Sometimes you can have too many options.

"What kind of offencive spells, Professor?" Potter wished to know.

Again I spent some time thinking.

"Something fast that put your opponent down for a while, the bone breaker curse would do fine. Your 'go to' offencive spells should be something fast to cast and difficult for your enemies allies to fix. A stunner is a bad spell for just that reason. Too easy to wake someone up" I finally said.

Potter frowned.

"The bone breaking curse?" he asked "That's kind of...cruel."

Clearly Dumbledore had too much influence on the boy.

"There are reasons why the Killing Curse is go to spells for the Death Eaters" I was now telling the kid "It ignores magical shielding and permanently takes the target out of the fight with a single attack. When fighting for your life, Potter you should be more worried about your own well being than that of your enemies. Besides broken bones aren't easy to fix in the middle of a battle and if you break the hand they use to hold their wand well that's going to stop them from casting spells. Or at least it will screw up their aiming".

Potter looked unhappy, but he didn't argue.

"Anything else?" he asked.

A few things.

"Use your brain. Practice often. Learn to look out for friendly fire, Watch each others' back. Never leave your partner. If you are in a fair fight, you already failed so find ways to cheat. Always have a way out. The usual stuff" I advised "There might be some spells like a stunner that can't be countered easily. Might be a better option that bone breaking since you don't want to practice those on each other".

I wasn't going to suggest actually killing the enemy, he was a kid after all.

"Yes, Thank you Professor" he said "I'll start looking up spells".

Now I was thinking that it was time to get out of here. It was getting late I still had research of my own to do.


	29. Wizarding World 4

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Wizarding World 4**

 **Corridors. Hogwarts School.**

Tom Riddle's Diary, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, Nagini. Harry Potter

Well I could cross out the Diary, that had been dealt with, and since I'd found a card called Remove Soul which only cost one blue mana to cast that dealing with the bit of soul inside Harry Potter would either be really easy or it could horrible wrong. I might cast out Harry's own soul.

Which would allow me to destroy the bit of soul in that scar because then I'd could stab with the Basilisk Fang I'd taken before leaving the Chamber, only then Potter would be dead. Kind of counterproductive to aiding him in goal of defeating the Dark Lord. Which I decided to do now if only so I could mentor him while doing so and turn him into less of a whiny bitch. It had worked on Jon Snow, not that I'd mentored him really.

Sadly I couldn't tell Potter about any of the stuff about the Dark Lord's soul anchors, not only because he was a sort of Horcrux, and that he had to die, but because he had that pesky mental link to Riddle. One look in Harry's mind and he'd know that someone knew about his soul anchors. Then he'd move them or upgrade their defences. It might be better to enlist Dumbledore's aid. Assuming he was sane, he'd be thankfully for what was basically a cheat sheet on how to handle the Dark Lord.

I turned the corner, now heading for the Headmaster's office and almost ran into Harry Potter.

"Omph! Sorry Professor!" he quickly said, taking a step back.

I wondered if Fate was trying to prompt me into taking Potter with me on the Horcrux hunt, but I knew that would be a bad idea. He'd still have the trace thing on him.

"Quite alright, Mr Potter. You should get back to the tower soon, it is almost curfew." I said before I walked past him.

Something about that was nagging at my mind though so I turned and pointed at him

"Potter. What happened to your hand?" I asked as I walked back towards him.

Harry put his hand behind his back and shook his head

"It's nothing, Professor" he lied.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Show me" I ordered.

He hesitated and looked embarrassed, but pulled his hand out and I took it, giving it a good look.

"I must not tell lies" I read from the scratches at the back of his hand

Then I took a slow and deep breath

"Who did this?" I then asked him in a calm voice.

As if I didn't know already, but since I shouldn't know. I had to go through the motions as it were.

"Tell me" I urged.

He hesitated some more so I gave him a firm look, causing him to speak up

"I had detention with Professor Umbridge" he admitted.

Upon hearing that I simply nodded and let the hand go

"I see. Go to the hospital wing and get that looked at. That is a order, Mr Potter. We wouldn't want it to scar. I will go and talk with the human toad" I said.

Potter swallowed and then nodded before I turned to go find Umbridge's office. At this point enough was enough.

Killing her was however out of the question as I wasn't actually sure I could murder someone. Better that she vanished. I'd stick her in a card and just never let her out, or let her out somewhere very unpleasant.

Knocking on the door I walked inside, not waiting for an answer. I found the pink abomination sitting at her desk

"Madame." I said, as I walked over to her "You've really pissed me off".

To say the least.

"Excuse me! What do you think you are doing!? You cant just barge in here!" she exclaimed, rushing to her feet.

In short order I disarmed her, as she'd reached for her wand, and then I used another spell to tie her to her chair. Wand magic was so easy. I'd learned to perform those two spells in a very short amount of time.

Umbridge tried to scream but another spell rendered her unable to speak.

"Accio wand" I casted.

That spell brought her wand into my hand, and pocketed it. Having it would allow me to study a wand. I could take it apart and figure out how it worked.

"Madame Umbridge" I said as I walked over to lean against her desk "Its not even half term yet. Its been three bloody weeks since school started and already I have to deal with you".

Her eyes displayed the panic she felt but could not express.

"I mean when I arrived in this world all I wanted was to do some research" I went on to say "But no I had to get involved didn't I. Mostly I blame myself I just don't know when to keep my head down. Still I can do something about you".

That was when someone else spoke.

"I can't let you do anything to Professor Umbridge" a male voice said.

Dumbledore was right behind me. I looked around, and wondered what to do. I left my wand and the last thing I saw a red light.

(Line Break)

Cell. Azakaban

It took perhaps two days before my headache faded away completely I figured I must have hit my head when the Headmaster had stunned me. Which was annoying, but by far the worst parts were the horrible cold and the Dementor that sometimes stood outside my cell door and stared at me through the bars for hours each day. And the fact that I couldn't sleep, due to the nightmares.

At first it hadn't been so bad, the Dementor, I'd just be so angry at Dumbledore and this entire world, and since anger wasn't anything happy the Dementor didn't seem to effect me much. Alas despair had crept in and now I just felt sorry for myself all of the time. So much so that I'd even lost track of time.

I had shifted the thin mattress around so half of it was against the wall so that when I was sitting on it I didn't need to lean my back against the bare stone wall.

In my hand a fireball formed and then faded away. I couldn't do much magic here, and all the rest of my stuff had been taken away. So I pretty much helpless.

It was hard to think in this place. The cold, the hunger, the lack of sleep. The intense feeling of dread and fear the Dementors radiated even just by passing by the cell made it impossible to focus for any length of time.

I'd understood very quickly why prisoners go insane in this place. I think it might actually be worse for me. I hadn't actually done anything to deverse this place. I'd not intended to kill anyone, and I hadn't even get a trail.

It was hard to think. But I had nothing to do but think. I had examined every single square inch of my cell. It was solid every single part of my cell. No lose brinks or rusty bars.

As I heard a sound I opened my eyes and looked up. The scream of another prisoner. I still wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that this place was somewhat sound proof.

Normally I couldn't hear anything but the water dripping or the occasional rasping of a Dementor drawing breath, or at mimicing the action, but that made hearing the other prisoners so much worse because it meant something really bad was happening.

Sirius Black survived over a decade of this. Dog form or not, surviving a decade of this and staying somewhat sane was an incredible achievement. One I didn't think I'd match.

Closing my eyes again as the scream faded to nothing I focused on the warmth of the flame in my hand as I formed a new fireball, trying to ignore my hunger, cold and exhaustion as I tried to think.

I was in a prison staffed by soul-sucking, possibly indestructible demonic creatures. I was unable to use my internal magic for anything meaningful or Planeswalk out due to some kind of barrier, that prevented Planeswalking. Something I had never seen before.

What might be happening outside now? What were the odds that somebody would get me out of here?

Considering I had yet to have a trial that meant I hadn't been sentenced I might be held here until trial and they were dragging their feet about it. That sound like something Umbridge would do.

Closing my eyes once more I put those thoughts to one side and focused on the positive, what little there was.

If they knew what I was, they would have killed me while I was down. Which meant if they took me out of here for a trail and I might be able to Planeswalk away.

Dumbledore did know about how dangerous I was, hence why he'd stunned me. But why either arrange to lock me up here or allow it to happen?

Perhaps he was worried about having two Dark Lords running around. Then again he might need my help later. Perhaps he intended to get me set free and then tell a version of the truth which involved Umbridge calling in the Aurors and dragging me off with him being able to do nothing to stop them. Which might actually be what happened.

Then maybe later, most likely after Voldemort was exposed, he'd ensure my release and expect me to feel indebted to him. Even offer me a place in his Order, try to make me like him.

I did clearly remember how quickly he'd gotten to Umbitch's office, so he must have been tailing me somehow, or perhaps he'd been following Potter and had then started to follow me because he was worried I'd killed the human toad. I simply did know.

Once thing I did know for sure was if I got off this island then somebody was going to have a bit of a bad day. I might not have my cards anymore, limiting my powers, however should I get out I'd go to World of Warcraft and become the most powerful mage they'd ever seen. Then I'd come back and destroy the Ministry for Magic and Dumbledore too.

Oh who was I kidding?

I was going to die in here.

(Line Break)

There was some screaming and the sound of spell casting going on, but the prison was clearly not collapsing, so this was an attack. It was not until a minute after the first explosion that I remembered that Voldemort and his Death Eaters would attack the prison to break the best of his minions out during this year.

Now, that seem like a rather important thing to remember, but I had not read the books for years and I was a bit distracted by the horror of this place.

I leaned my back against the mattress propped up against the wall as I watched my cell door. Patience would serve me best here. I did not want to go up against somebody with instant kill spells, and there were still Dementors running around. One had passed my cell only a few minutes ago.

Sighing I listened to another scream. The Death Eaters were still here and they were killing the guards.

Listening carefully I could hear footsteps. They slowly got closer until somebody was standing outside the cell door. Black Robes, skull looking, bone white mask. Yep a Mort Muncher

One hand was visible, holding a wand. The hand was silvery in colour. Which meant he had to be Peter Pettigrew.

Not the tallest man and even in the robes I could see that he was rather round. Rather pathetic, but also deadly dangerous right now. Not somebody to fuck around with given the state I was in.

"Are you Gothic?" He asked.

I'd not expected him to know me.

"Yeah. Who wants to know?" I asked.

I was trying to play it cool. I doubted I was successful.

"My name is not important. The Dark Lord requests your presence. I suggest you do as he wishes" The rat animagus said.

I tilted my head in thought as I watched the traitor wizard. Why would Voldemort want me? I doubted my enchantment skills had his interest.

"What for?" I asked, mostly to get more time to think things over.

Pettigrew bowed his head slightly

"The Dark Lord believes there might be a place for you in his organisation, he too despises the Ministry" Wormtail told me.

Ah that explained the recruitment, and perhaps Snape had told him what I was. He might be playing both sides.

"But if you wish, you may remain here instead" Wormtail said "Perhaps they finally get around to giving you a trial."

Pettigrew was not like I remembered from the movies or books, more confident. Perhaps it was because he was hiding behind a mask?

"Is the Dark Lord on the island?" I asked as I got to my feet.

The Death Eater shook his head

"We'll portkey out of here as soon as the boat get us far enough away from the defences" I was told "Then once you have time to rest you will met with our master".

Good as if Voldemort was on the Island, it would have been different. He might have wanted to Mark me at once and that I would not have allowed.

Not that it really mattered. Once I was off this island I'd be able to Planeswalk, at least I hoped I would. If my recovery took time I'd just have to play along as best I could.

"I appear I have a job interview to go to. Would you mind opening the door? I seem to have misplaced my wand" I joked.

Already I was feeling better. The wards must have been damaged. Whatever was suppressing me seemed to fading.

"Step back" Wormtail advised.

I did as he said before he used some kind of blasting curses on the hinges of the cell door. Definitely not the Pettigrew I expected from the books, he seemed to know what he was doing.

"Follow me." he ordered and started down the corridor the way he'd come from.

Soon I would be out of here, oh happy days.

During my time in that cell some things had became clear to me. The Wizarding world was too corrupt and too dangerous to leave alone. They were clearly unable to keep from creating these 'Dark Lords' every couple of generations. Plus there was their rampant racism and oppression of non-humans.

As much as I disliked the idea to become responsible for yet another civilisation, I could simply not let things continue like it where. Voldie had to go, and so did the Ministry. But that could wait until I was ready. Right now I doubted I could take on a kitten.

I followed Pettigrew out onto the courtyard. It was pretty small, maybe fifteen meters across, and there was a group of wizards gathered, ready to leave. Some where in black robes, others in clothes even worse than mine.

"Took your time, didn't you Wormtail?" a taller wizard, wearing the same robes and mask as my guide said, "The Master is waiting.

The rat shape shifter answered him, but I ignored him and the biting cold wind in favour of looking around.

Impressive architecture. It was built from large monolithic stone blocks. Alas it was too dark to get a proper look at the place, not that it was much better a place to be during the day.

Pettigrew poked my arm and I turned my head to stare at him. He motioned towards the blasted down wall at the other end of the courtyard the rest of the other group was already halfway through.

"Come on. We need to leave" he urged.

I nodded.

"Ah, yeah led the way" I requested.

Following him, I kept looking around but I also kept an eye on my guide. I just knew, that the moment I got somewhere warm, safe and with food. I'm going to crash for like a week. My apartment in Smallville would be nice, or better yet Ponyville that would would a good place to be while recovering from time spent with Dementors. Ponyville was like the exact opposite of this place.

However I don't even know if I would dare to try to Walk like this. It was tiring at the best of times even after all my practice in it. Doing it in the state I was in right now might actually outright kill me, Spark or no Spark.

Pettigrew stopped and looked back at me before he shook his head and climbed back up the stairs gripping my arm with his right silver one and leading me down the stairs.

After giving him a nod in gratitude, I was able to stumble along. Once we finally reached the bottom of the stairs, I very carefully climbed into the wooden boat. It was pretty small, but it did hold the entire group with room to spare. Had to bigger on the inside.

Pettigrew climbed in next to me and gave the taller Death Eater a nod.

"Ready" he asked or said.

I couldn't tell which.

"Why are we bringing this one?" the female with the crazy hair asked.

I could only assume she was Bellatrix

"He isn't one of us!" she then yelled.

The tall Death Eater took of his mask, revealing platinum hair. Lucius Malfoy.

"Because our Master ordered it," he said and tapped his wand on the rear of the boat.

I kept my eyes closed. Just the short walk through the prison and down to the boat was exhausting. Whatever energy I'd saved hadn't lasted long.

"Wormtail, ready the Portkey" Malfoy ordered. "We are approaching the edge of the defences".

The wizard with the silver hand nodded and reached for a bag sitting in the boat next to me. Soon he pulled out a long length of rope and started to pass it out, making sure that everyone was holding on to part of the rope.

I hesitated for a split second and then took a hold of the rope when it was offered to me. I had to go Planeswalking right now would be a bad idea, and I doubt they'd just let me go even if I could swim for it.

"We are clear." Malfoy said and grabbed the wand. "Everyone hang on. Portkey in 3, 2, 1..."

I felt a hard jerk at my centre of mass, there was a whirl of colour and motion before I slammed into something hard and everything went black.

(Line Break)

Death Eater Hideout. Wizarding World.

The first thing I felt was that I was comfortable. For once it was warm and comfortable. It was nice to just to lay on something soft and warm.

I slowly opened my eyes without moving the rest of my body, my memories starting to slowly return to me. I shot up out of bed when I realised what was going on.

Death Eaters had saved me. Quickly I checked my arms. No Dark Mark, which was nice. I was worried for a moment there.

The room I'd been left in was small but looked comfortable enough. A nice sized bed, some furniture, a bookcase. Also on the bedside table was my wand, my bracelet of mox diamonds and my cards! The Death Eaters must have recovered all the property that had been taken from the prisoners. Even my pouch of holding was here.

Grinning, I slipped out of the bed and stretched when the next thing hit me. For some reason I naked. Which was worrying. Thankfully the suit I'd been wearing when Dumbledore had stunned me and I'd been thrown into prison was clean and neatly folded on a nearby chair. I figured a House Elf must have undressed me, likely just by clicking their fingers, no Death Eater would be so kind.

After getting dressed I grabbed the handle and pulled open the door, poking my head outside. Nobody there. I'd expected at least one guard keeping an eye on me, as they given me my wand. So they didn't consider me a threat. Perhaps they simply assumed I'd soon be one of them

I paused as I stepped out into the hallway, leaning against the wall. I could just grab my stuff, Planeswalk out and just leave this damn world.

It would be so easy to do. On the other I had a real chance to take out Voldemort, or at least some of his minions. I really wanted to kill them. Which was ungrateful, since they'd saved me, but they were Death Eaters.

I went back into the room, and started to look through the cards. I had eight mox diamonds full of black mana, which further enforced the idea that my stuff had been stored at the prison. What struck me as odd about that was Dumbledore knew about he cards. So either he'd not been given the chance to remove them from my person or he'd been hoping this would happen.

Regardless it was time to unleash hell.

"Ah, you're awake. Good. The Master wish to speak with you." a voice said, interrupting my card sorting

I turned to see Pettigrew. He wasn't wearing his mask this time. Now he looked like a small, overweight man with somewhat ratty features and long dirty hair.

My next action was to hand him a blank card and trap him inside it. He just took it without thought, which amused me. Then I went back to sorting my deck. I hadn't really thought that through, but now that I had done it I was glad, he had sort of been nice to me. He'd freed me so I would spare his life. I'd find some world with no one upon it to use as a dumping ground.

Next I summoned Erebos, God of the Dead, using a lot of black mana, and while it hurt to do so it was worth it as he was Indestructible according to the card. Which meant the only way for the Mort Munchers to get rid of him would be to banish him, which they wouldn't know how to do, or to kill me. Which meant staying out of sight.

"Kill every adult in this building, other than myself" I ordered.

Soon the screaming started and spell casting started. Once it was done I started to explore the place. The corridors were nice, small statues, fine paintings, not moving ones, could be muggle. Riddle Manor perhaps?

As I headed upstairs I went past a set of windows. I glanced out, revealing a fine set of grounds. Indeed I was in some kind of mansion, the sun was low, either setting or rising, I could not tell at the moment.

When I found Erebos, God of the Dead, it was what passed for the Dark Lord's throne room. I'd half expected a dark stone chamber with skulls and maybe a fire along with a large stone throne, maybe. What I instead got was more of a study. Nice wooden furniture, shelves of books covering the walls, a table with some candles and quills. Honestly, it looked like something I would have furnished.

However I stopped paying attention the room when I saw the dead body of Voldemort. He was pale he differed from the movies. While he was as pale, he was more and less snakelike. His mouth was unnaturally wide and his eyes was very much reptilian looking. His nose still existed, but was very flat looking.

Then I was distracted form this sight by a distant scream, and I looked to see that the god creature had left the room. He must have missed one, that or a new person had entered the building.

I paused and listened carefully. There was no more sound. No hordes if angry dark wizards came running to their masters rescue so I turned my attention to the 'thing' that was lying on the ground.

Voldemort wasn't really dead he still had his soul anchors, and most likely another plan to come from being bodiless. Granted that would be harder to accomplish since judging by all the different screams many Death Eaters were now off to next great adventure. Hopefully in Hell.

Given time to recover I could hunt down the soul anchors, and kill the other Death Eaters. I could mentor Potter and let him to do the heavy lifting. I could make out the Ministry. I just didn't want to. I was sick of this world.

"Fuck it" I muttered "I'm going back to Equestria".

I needed a holiday.

But first things first. I had a little time before anyone checked up on this place and I had a god to protect me. I was going to loot all these books, take everyone's wands for later study, and take anything else I could carry. Then I was going to get the hell out of here and only come back when I was ready to take this society apart. Assuming I could be bothered I might just leave them all to their stupidity.


	30. Ponyvillie Return

Author Note

Thanks to Takao-kun for his help with this chapter.

Reviews

DiveLord

Oh he'll go back I promise. But with Voldemort out of the way there's no rush to go revist the Wizarding World, and PG will need to learn a lot more magic before he can take on the entire wizarding world. Plus he has bigger issues to deal with in Westeros. Winter Is Coming.

wormrepo

It just hasn't all been explained yet. I will try to make things clearer.

Harry Potter has always been an idiot I don't see why I would need to explain that.

Dumbledore doesn't seem the type to be bribed.

I'm not having any personal problems. Although I am working again now, so I have less time to devote to my fics.

RoyalTwinFangs

He is going to check up on things in Westeros, after taking some time to relax.

dloold87

Indeed he does need to.

Ashzaroth

If you want mini Catwoman in the story again I can arrange that.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Ponyville Return.**

 **Dumbledore's Office. Hogwarts School.**

The Headmaster had for reasons he'd found quite sensible, been avoiding contact with Harry Potter, but now things had changed. There was no longer any need to worry about Tom Riddle listening in should the two wizards speak. This was because the man known as Lord Voldemort couldn't do anything about what he overheard even if he still had the ability to enter Harry's mind. Which was doubtfull.

"So in your dream you saw Proffesor Gothic, is that right Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

The Headmaster had not fired the Planeswalker because he'd fully intended to give the man, if he was a man, his job back after getting him out of Azkaban. Which would have simply enough for Dumbledore, he'd would have to call in some favours, but it would have been worth it to have a Planeswalker in the Order of the Phoneix. His influence over the Ministry hadn't weakened as much as Minsiter Fudge might imagine.

Albus hadn't actually planned for things to happen the way they had, but he'd taken advantage of things as they'd happened. He'd been tailing Harry Potter after the boy's dention with Umbridge, just to ensure the boy didn't cause too much of a fuss. Then when Potter had run into the Planeswalker in the corridor and had seen the wound on Harry's arm the Headmaster had known that Gothic would do some reckless.

Which of course he had, and Dumbledore had saved the Umbridge woman, and she'd ordered the Planeswalker to be thrown in prision before the Headmaster could take Gothic's magical cards from him.

There would have been a trail later on, however the Death Eaters had moved more quickly than the Headmaster had expected. They'd not only freed many of their own, but they'd also freed the Planeswalker.

This might have all been salavagble if not for what happened next.

"Yes Proffesor" Harry was now saying "but not right away. First there was a creature, I don't what it was, and in my dream Voldemort, as well as some other Death Eaters tried to fight the creature, but nothing they did worked. Not even the Killing Curse".

This was alarming news, out of all the living things in this world, only Dementors could withstand the Killing Curse, and no one was quite sure if they were really alive. Even none living things tended to be at least damaged by the Killing Curse, so have something or someone totally immune was worrying.

"What happened next, Harry?" Dumbledore wished to know.

He'd gotten part of the story from Snape, who had fled Riddle Manor before he could be killed, now he was getting the rest of the tale.

"Well sir" Harry went on to say "The creature killed the Death Eaters, it was horrible there was screaming and spells flying everywhere, none of them did anything even Voldemort was helpless. Then the creature killed Voldemort, well his body anyway, and I figure his ghost must of hung around for a bit as then I saw Proffesor Gothic, he looked ill, I guess from all the time in prision. He wasn't there long though, he kinda looted the place and left. Seemed in a hurry, and I guess Voldemort's spirit must have left soon after because that was when my dream ended".

Dumbledore frowned.

"Thank you, Harry" the Headmaster then said "That will be all".

As Potter left the office, Albus went and looked out of the window. He understood that everything had changed very quickly, it might be a decade or more before Tom Riddle returned, and by then Harry would be an adult, no longer under Dumbledore's diret control as he was now. Plus there was an angry Planeswalker to worry about.

Dumbledore nodded to himself as he considerd ways to deal to perhaps deal with both of these problems. He would take Harry as an apperentice and teach the Boy-Who-Lived how to battle even the most of powerful of Wizards so when that Gothic returned he would have more than Dumbledore to deal with. Planeswalkers, which Albus had read about, were not totally invincible and Harry was protected by prophecy.

Still it wouldn't hurt to call in the Order of the Phoneix and to tell them at least some of what had happened. They needed to be ready to defend this world should the Planeswalker return.

(Line Break)

 _Ponyville_ Day Spa. Equestria

The first of the mane six I'd run into upon arriving back in Ponyville was Rarity who of course had a million questions for me, and I a few for her, but somehow we'd ended up at the local spa. I had no idea how she'd talked me into this, it had all happened so fast. Still I didn't mind that much, it was rather relaxing and after what I'd been through I needed a little pampering.

"Okay so immediately after you... what did you call it?" Rarity asked.

Right now she looked rather frightful since her face was covered some green goo, but after spending time with Dementors it would take a lot more than goopy masks to bother me. Besides my eyes were now covered with slices of cucumber. I'd refused the goo mask as I didn't want sticky stuff covering my face.

"Planeswalking" I told her.

Rarity then got on with the story.

"Planeswalked away, the Crystal Golem fell to the pavement below and shatters into pieces with the Crystal Heart left spinning across the ground. Princess Cadence went to retrieve it only for Sombra to emerge from the shadows of the castle legs and reach it first. Then all the Crystal Ponies immediately attempted to flee only for Sombra to raise a black crystal wall around the castle to prevent them" I was informed. "Then he had the nerve to lecture Princess Cadence as well as the rest of us, about being thieves, saying that we were attempting to instigate a rebellion in HIS Empire. And he said that we would be punished severely before being sent back to HER as a message saying that if SHE wants HIS Empire SHE can damn well come face him HERSELF. Can you imagine the nerve of that pony, talking about Princess Celeista in such a way?".

Given that she literally made the sun rise I could understand why the ponies would find it shocking for anyone to be so rude towards the princess. Also it was risky, if she got too annoyed she might not make the sun rise tomorrow.

"Why am I sinking?" I asked.

I had cucumber slices on my eyes so I couldn't see what was happening, but I could feel myself slowly getting lower.

"That's the mud bath, darling" Rarity explained "Just let it take you".

Odd that it had only just started making me sink. Must be magic.

"Anyway after that we attempted to call him out, reminding him of his many crimes and he corrected us, the nerve" I was now being told "He even went as far to as to remove the amnesia spell from one of the Crystal Ponies, and she immediately recognized him as King Sombra. And she changed into a bright Crystal Pony form, which I thought was simply fablous, what wasn't so fablous was how she, the Crystal Pony I mean, praised Sombra for protecting them from the creatures that dwelled in the Darkness. Unfortnately within a few moments she began to remember all that she suffered, the poor dear, and she broke down begging him to take the memories away".

Well I'd know that Sombra wasn't a two dimensional villian, but I hadn't realised that he'd been protecting ponies by taking their memories away. This changed my view of the stallion somewhat.

"Then all of a sudden Shining Armor attempted to jump Sombra; only for him to react surprisingly quick, grabbing poor Shining and hurling him into Cadence with his unicorn magic" was the next part of the story "After that Sombra went mad demanding to know how the two of them were alive and how Cadence was an Alicorn after he'd watched them both be killed 1000 years ago".

That made no sense.

"Later we found out that Cadence and Shining Armor are the reincarnations of the Queen of the Crystal Empire and her consort" Rarity explained.

If true then Fate had to have been involved.

"While Sombra was distracted, my brave little Spikey managed to very slowly sneak up and take the Crystal Heart" I was now being informed "Alas Sombra become aware of what was going on the moment that Spike grabbed the Crystal Heart. I watched the fiend fire off several blast at Spike one of which hits him the poor dear, and sent him skidding across the pavement. When I raced off to help poor Spiky I saw the Crystal Heart go flying, only to stop in mid air directly under the center of the castle".

I guessed Spike actions had been more impressive to the ponies who'd actually been there. From what I knew of the baby dragon it was possible he'd just wanted to eat the big crystal.

"Next Princess Cadence gave a speech to the Crystal Ponies, only for Sombra to laugh at her, claiming that it was he who had protected the Crystal Heart for over a thousand years, claiming that it wouldn't turn on him. He was gloating right up until the Heart started glowing. Then there was this expanding light spreading out from the Heart, and it touched all the ponies in the Empire, and soon there was no trace of Sombra or his black crystals".

Well plot device to the resuce.

"Now Twilight, who had been unconscious due to being clipped in the head by a crystal chunk from the Crystal Golem the poor dear, was healed up by the energy, or so she says, but I remember was her teleporting around looking for you. She didn't take well to the fact that you disappeared" Rarity said.

Well she had a bit of a crush on me, that much was obvoius. Although since I'd been gone for a while perhaps those feelings had faded.

"Anyway Twilight quickly found out what she missed and then we all headed back to Canterlot" Rarity said "It was a very sober train ride back, well we all thought you were dead, sweetie".

She had already told me that Twilight was currently in Canterlot, doing a princess thing as she was a now a princess. I didn't have the details on that, but I was sure Rarity would fill me in later.

"When we entered the throne room to report to the Princesses, we all had to stop and stare at the new magical stain glass image that had appeared, it showed our 'victory' at the Crystal Empire. With no mention of your efforts to find the Crystal Heart" the unicorn said "or of my brave Spike".

At this point my hooves had found the bottom of the mud bath, had I gone any deeper I would have teleported out.

"Let me guess all the credit went to you ponies" I muttered.

This was a very female dominated society, a bit sexist in my view as there were three, no now four, princesses and no princes. Plus all the Elements of Harmony were female. Perhaps it was time to change that. I could make my own castle with the right card, and find away to give myself wings. That would show everyone that males mattered too.

"That was when Princess Celestia drew our attention away from the stain glass window because he wanted our report. It was Princess Luna who noticed something was wrong, that being your lack of presence" Rarity was now saying, having not heard my earlier comment "Twilight started giving her report, but once it reached the point about first encountering Sombra. Twilight went mad and started demanding answers from her mentor".

I had a hard time imagining Sparkle standing up the Princess.

"They got into a furious argument, and would you belivie it Twilight told the Princesses that she didn't want to be Celestia's apprentice anymore!" Rarity told me

Given that Twilight was currently at Canterlot I figured they'd made up.

"Princess Celestia was shocked into a silence" the unicorn reported "and that silence was only broken by the slow clapping of hooves by Sombra, who as it turned out had been watching the scene".

Well given that Rarity was in one peice, and that the sun was high in the sky I guessed that Sombra didn't massacure everyone.

"Although it wasn't Sombra as you would remember him, he was no longer wearing any armor or his royal cape, and his eyes changed into a rather nice emerald green, and was wearing a simple green cloak. Still he had his ruby red horn and fangs, but he didn't look anywhere near as intimidating as he had when were in the Empire".

Now I was feeling sorry for missing that show.

"Naturally we were all rather shocked to see him having believed him defeated when the Crystal Heart was activated. Twilight questioned him on how he survived and he responded by saying that he used the same trick he did in the throneroom, only in reverse. Whatever that means" Rarity said.

I figured that meant he'd been there at the start, but had teleported away, leaving a projection of himself once the Heart was in place.

"Sombra then told Twilight that she still has a lot to learn about magic, and that he would gladly discuss the spells he knows in exchange for her knowledge of how magic has advance since his banishment" was what I was told next "Then Princess Celestia loudly declard that she will not allow him to corrupt Twilight. She ordered us all to go gather the Elements of Harmony while she and Princess Luna contained him".

Which that could have just used in the first place.

"Now would you belivie it, Sombra stands there innocently asking what he had done to deserve so much animosity from his beloved mentor" a scandilised Rarity told me "Princess Celestia denied that he was her apprentice and started listing his crimes. Only for him interrupt and tell everyone that he was only following her orders".

Which in my view was not an excuse for doing evil, only I wasn't sure now if Sombra was evil.

"At this point Princess Luna and Twilght cried out 'What?' While Celestia denied that she ever told him such. Then he brought out some scroll" I was informed.

I knew what scroll this was.

"He read it out loud and as it turns out Sombra's just been waiting to come back to Princess Celestia and that his mission was finally done. He said: It may have taken over a 1000 years, but the Crystal Empire is now firmly a part of Equestria, and then he said something about letting the power of the Crystal Heart go to his head, and that all the events after were a set up to allow Princess Celestia to 'save' Crystal Ponies" I was told "Naturally Celestia was horrified at how Sombra had twisted the meaning of her words".

But had he?

"He proceeded to bring out his own report and went into great detail about the predjudices he'd faced. And something about a 'prank' were he was exposed to the Nightmare Crystal, whatever that is" Rarity said next "Then she orderd him to stop once he started reporting about what the dragons did to the Crystal Ponies".

Given the reaction fo the Crystal Ponies towards Spike I can't imagine that the dragons came to the Crystal Empire for anything less than to eat it. I'd seen Spike devour bowls of gemstones so the Crystal Empire must have looked like an all you can buffet to a flight of dragons. Even the ponies themselves could have been on the menu.

"This started an argument between Sombra and Princess Celestia that had the rest of us taking cover together. While they are redecorating the throne room we found out that Princess Celestia sent Sombra away because she couldn't return Sombra's love, as he would grow old and die, leaving her alone" Rarity reported.

Well things had changed since then. Planeswalkers weren't immortal anymore, although there were ways around that. It was one of the things I planned to look into. But even without immortality Princess Celestial and Luna could still live for centuries which kinda sucked when everyone else didn't live that long.

"That was when Sombra released an crazy laugh, yelling out that she, Princess Celestia that is, still doesnt get it. He told us that no normal unicorn could have survived in the Darkness even with power of the Crystal Heart, he'd needed more power" Rarity said "Then he took off the cloak to reveal his black dragon like wings".

Well that was a plot twist.

"Which means he is the only male Alicorn in existance. Its rumoured that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have a dream of a stallion companion that will love as long as they do" Rarity reported "Sadly Sombra shattered that dream by delivering a scroll that he'd worked for a 1000 years, his resignation as Celestia's apprentice".

Well that must have been dramtic.

"Is that true?" I asked "Both of the Princess want a companion who is immortal?".

Rarity confirmed this and I started to wonder if Luna's interest in me had been purly because she'd wanted her own Planeswalker apprentice.

"Then he just leaves" the fashion loving unicorn was now telling me "Saying something about being free of obligations and going on vacation. Starting with finding the closest bar as he wanted to drown a 1000 years worth of horrible memories".

I couldn't blame him for that. If this 'Darkness' had been anything like Azkaban then he desversed a vacation. I'd come here to unwind after that prision, and now I was starting to wonder if it was the fault of the ponies that I'd ended up with the Dementors. I'd trusted Dumbledore more than I should have and that had ended in trouble. I promised myself that I would be far less trusting in the future. And also that I would limit my time in this world as the whole 'friendship is magic' thing was infectous.

"That was when Twilight turned and left" Rarity told me next "Only pausing long enough on the way out to shatter the stain glass window of our 'victory' at the Crystal Empire".

I reminded myself to stay on Sparkles good side.

"After that we return to Ponyville" Rarity said "Twilight headed straight home and locked herself in the library, but that's not even the most crazy thing that happened while your away".

I turned to look at Rarity, or at least I turned to face in her direction. I still had cucumber slices over my eyes so I couldn't actually see her.

"What happened next?" I wished to know.

She soon supplied the desired information.

"Well from what I heard Sombra freed Discord from his stone prison" I was told "Rather than cause lots of chaos, like last time, he went and joined Sombra on his drinking binge, creating whole new kinds of drink for them to get drunk on. In just one night they went to several bars all over the place, and I heard from a friend of a friend in Manehatten that Sombra gave Discord the idea to go on vacation".

I had to wonder where trickester gods went on vacation. Then I considered that I most likely didn't really want to know.

"Apprantly Discord, decided that this was a great idea" Rarity informed me "and he mentioned something about visiting some friends in other realities. But what's really interesting is what happened next".

If I'd been sitting I'd be on the edge of my seat.

"He visited Twilight before he left and upon finding her in such an emotional state, he promised to look for you" she said "He also left behind a message scroll for Princess Celestial, who he dared to call sunbutt. Of course this being Discord he also left behind something called an ACME catalogue for the Cutie Mark Crusaders".

I really hoped someone took that off the Cutie Mark Crusaders before they managed to blow up Ponyvillie.

"Oh did I tell you, Sombra moved here to Ponyville less than a week after arriving in Canterlot. From what I heard he couldn't stand the nobles there. Even had a country manor constructed outside town by the forest" Rarity said next "It got built very quickly".

I also couldn't stand the noble ponies in Canterlot. I only ever spoke to them so I could buy land from them. That made it easier to gather Mana. Not that a Planeswalker needed to own land to gain power from it, but I'd never learned to gather Mana directly. Which would have been handy in Azakaban, although I didn't know any spells that used Mana as I always used cards for the big spells. That was something that was going to have to change. I never wanted to be helpless again.

Rarity went on to tell me a few more thing about Sombra. He maintaind polite relationships with most of the local ponies. Apprantly Rainbow Dash bugged him a lot for races as she wanted to prove that she was faster than an Alicorn. That he only trusted Rarity to make him proper clothes, no doubt while putting up with her flirtations, as I did. That he buys a lot of cider from Applejack. Also she told me that Fluttershy's bunny keeps trying to assassinate him. Twilight occasionally discusses spells or uses him as a reference to correct her history books.

I also learned that Sombra was afraid of Pinkie Pie, after she found out that he hasnt had a birthday party in 1000 years and she attempted to fix that. Now I felt sorry for the guy, to have Pinkie Pie popping out of random objects at all hours screaming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" with a cake, confetti, and the gods only know what else.

Eventually he pointed out that the Crystal Ponies havent had any birthday parties either. This led to Pinkie Pie highjacking the friendship train, loading it with party supplies, and taking off at full speed for the Crystal Empire.

Buy the time she'd gotten back Pinkie Pie had put on some much weight from eating only party food that her friends had needed to roll her home. which of course she had enjoyed. Thankfully her friends had put her on a strict diet so she'd since lost all the weight.

"Well I best go check up on Sombra" I was now saying.

I'd just let him know that I was around, and that I would keeping an eye on him. Then I'd seek out Princess Luna and request that she teach me to gather Mana more directly as well as a few ways to use it when a pony was in trouble.

"You certainly will not" Rarity declared "Darling you look like you haven't had a proper meal in weeks, and you need a good night's sleep. I insist that once we are done here that we have dinner, and before you go to bed you will go see Twilight. She's been worrying about you".

That sounded like a lot of drama to me.

"And if you don't I shall inform Pinkie Pie that you missed a birthday party while you were gone" Rarity threatened.

I was shocked.

"You wouldn't would you?" I asked the unicorn.

This was evil.

"I'll even help plan the party" she said "there will be streamers everywhere".

This made me shudder in fear.

"Fine I'll do whatever you say" I promised the unicorn.

Mares be crazy.


	31. Tirek

**Author Note.**

I haven't written a chapter this long in some time. It was a lot of work.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **Tirek**

 **Ponyville. Equestria**

After a hard days work a unicorn was heading home down a dark ally, when suddenly he bumped into a cloaked figure.

"Oops. Sorry about that friend" the pony said kindly.

What was before the unicorn was not at all friendly.

"Is he friend or is he foe the pony wonders?" said the cloaked figure in a raspy tone of voice "I assure you I am no friend. I have returned to take my revenge".

With that the hooded figure began to drain the magic out of the young pony.

"And will have what was rightfully mine long ago" the attacker added.

The young stallion fell as his magic left him and could only watch in horror as the figure grew and his yellow eyes glowed with power.

(Line Break)

 **Canterlot. Equestria**

Since Princess Luna was mentoring me in magic, and she was a night person, it was rare for me to be up and about during the day, however Princess Celestia had summoned me to the throne room so for once I actually got to the castle in daylight.

"His name is Terik. A long time ago he and his brother Scorpin came from a distant land and were bent on stealing Equestrian magic" Celestia was saying "But Scorpin came to appreciate how we live here in Equestria, he even befriended a young unicorn called Star Swirl".

That young unicorn grew up to be known as Star Swirl the Bearded. One of the most powerful magic users in this world.

"Scorpin tried to reason with Terik but to no avail. Finally Scorpin came to us and told of Terik's plans" Celestia informed us "He was quickly defeated and sent to Tartarus. Scorpin left and returned home".

Tartarus, as in hell?

"But how did he escape?" Twilight asked

A good question. Hell isn't well known as a place easily to leave.

"Remember a few weeks ago when Cerberus left his post at the gates of Tartarus" Celestia continued "I believe that he escaped during that time, but only now does he have the strength to steal magic".

Steal magic. Oh this could be bad.

"He must be stopped at once!" Luna declared.

This was why I found Celestia easier to talk to despite her size and sheer power, Princess Luna could be very intense at times. Although Luna was a better teacher in my view.

"And I know the just the ponies who can stop him" Cadence chimed in.

Twilight smiled, but it quickly faded

"I am afraid that I must call on another to help; Discord." Celestia said, causing everypony to gasp in shock "He can find Terik faster with his powers and it keeps a public panic to a minimum".

Personally I wouldn't trust Discord to make me a piece of toast. So I decided that I'd investigate Terik with or without the permission of a princess. Although I was sure Luna would give me her blessing.

"So we're suppose to wait around on the side-lines" Twilight asked.

Her question was soon answered.

"It keeps us out off the way and Terik doesn't know that Discord as been freed" Celestia said.

Twilight was not soothed by this.

"But we can't let Terik walk around draining magic out of innocent ponies?!" she said, raising his voice.

Gone were the days when Sparkle simply followed her mentor's orders. The rift between them hadn't fully healed even thought Twilight was the Princess's apprentice once more.

"We have to be patient my student!" Celestia replied, also raising her voice "The Fate of Equestria hangs in the balance!".

Given that they'd defeat this Terik before I didn't under why things were so dire.

"You think I don't know that!" Twilight replied.

The other ponies wanted to stop the arguing, but were to unwilling to do so. I simply didn't care enough.

"We need to act now!" the youngest princess then said.

Celestia tried to calm things down.

"Please Twilight trust my judgement" Celestia requested "As ever I have taken everypony's safety into consideration".

That was the end of the discussion, at least for now.

(Line Break)

 **Ponyville. Equestria.**

Spotting his next victim the centaur quietly came up behind what he thought was a helpless unicorn.

"Terik I presume?" Discord asked, while smirking wickedly

Terik was confused, but soon realised who is prey really was.

"Discord you're free?" he asked in surprise.

The chaos lover shifted into the form of a toucan.

"As a bird" he said.

Terik bowed.

"Then I congratulate you upon your escape" the centaur praised.

That was when the chaos being returned to his normal form, if it could be called normal.

"I am afraid the feeling isn't mutual" Discord said.

The trickster snapped his fingers and chains latched onto Terik. He tried to fight Discord's spell, but his magic had yet to be fully restored.

"I might have known that you wanted Equestria all to yourself" the black and red coloured centaur accused.

Discord, who was now in a police uniform, chuckled softly.

"Sorry but wrong answer" he said. "Terik you are under arrest for stealing magic from ponies".

For a moment it looked as if it was all over, sadly things weren't going to end easily.

"You work with ponies now" Terik asked in amazement

Discord smiled

"I do this for my friends but between you and me its mainly Fluttershy" he admitted.

Terik hadn't expected to hear that.

"Fluttershy, you mean you are friends with these ponies?" he asked, sounding truly shocked.

Then Terik smirked as a plan formed in his head.

"Friends huh, you must have really fallen low to become their friend" the bad guy was now saying.

Discord was taken back

"No I have not" he protested.

Terik smiled

"Believe me their so called friendships is just another form of imprisonment" the centaur said "Don't fall for the same trap as my brother. If you join me I can give you something worth more than friendship. Freedom".

Discord was about to dismiss the offer but Terik continued

"Once I have stripped ever pony of their magic nothing would give me greater pleasure than watching their world be turned upside down" the villain was now saying "And who better than the Master of Chaos himself. Join me and let us show this world your greatness"

Discord gave the matter some thought.

(Line Break)

 **Canterlot. Equestria.**

Once again the four princess were meeting, only this time without Gothic in attendance.

"What is the matter?" Twilight asked her mentor as she entered the throne room "Is it about Terik?"

Celestia face gave part of the answer.

"I put too much trust in the friendship that Discord shares with us. Discord has joined forces with Terik and betrayed the ponies of Equestria" she told the young princess.

This was very bad news.

"What!?" Twilight yelled "I thought our friendship meant something to him? I thought he'd changed".

Alas he hadn't.

"Already he has stolen the magic of many unicorns and now he has the ability to take the magic from Pegasus and Earth ponies as well". Celestia continued "Its only a matter of time before he drains the magic from every pony he can find".

This was also very bad news.

"Without Pegasus to control the weather Equestria will not get the rain fall it needs. And if the Earth Ponies can't work the land we'll run out of food" Princess Cadence added "Ponies will no longer be able to control the world that power will belong only to Terik".

A worrying thought.

"There is more" Princes Luna said "Sooner or later Terik will come seeking Alicorn magic, and we can not let him have it".

Princess Celestia spoke next

"We must rid ourselves of our magic before Terik has the chance to steal it from us!" she declared.

Twilight gasped as shock overtook her.

"Yet we can not just send our magic away but rather we must hide it so that Terik can not find it" Celestia was now saying to the youngest princess "He knows about Luna, Cadence and myself, but he doesn't know about you, so we will give you our magic".

Twilight was now concerned.

"But I just still getting use to my own alicorn magic. How can I manage all of it?" she asked.

She soon had a sort of answer

"We have complete faith in you Twilight Sparkle" Princess Luna assured.

The purple pony began to quickly think.

"With the help of my friends.." she started to say.

Her mentor interrupted her.

"I sorry Twilight but you can not tell your friends about this." Celestia stated "By letting you friends know this they too will be in danger of becoming targets of Terik".

Twilight accepted this, although it did not make her happy.

"Very well then" Celestia said "Then let us begin.

Luna, Cadence, and Celestia gathered round Twilight. One by one the magic them to forma massive ball of energy. Then the magic funnelled into Twilight. All of that magic made it feel like her whole body was full of electricity. Soon all of the magic had entered Twilight and she could only watch as her fellow alicorns fell to the ground.

(Line Break)

 **Ponyville. Equestria**

"Princess Twilight!" a voice boomed "You have something that is mine".

Twilight Sparkle looked through her telescope and saw Terik fire a powerful magic beam right towards. Panic gripped her as she ran back inside. The spell hit with a massive explosion throwing Twilight, who was holding Howlutious and Spike, out of the library. They all landed together with a thud and looked back to see the whole tree was nothing more than a burnt husk. Books, her books, burned in fire that was all around her. As Twilight stood up any pony looking at her face would later say she had an expression which meant 'Find Him and Rip Him a New One'. No one messed up her books.

"Spike, Howlutius" she said "Get out of here".

The purple alicorn took off into the sky, flying towards Terik and fired a powerful beam of magic right down at the centaur. Terik was knocked down, however he soon stood up.

With a wave of his arm the evil being raised spikes from the ground into the air. Twilight blasted through the spikes. Only she was then hit by a blast of magical power. One so strong he actually blacked out for a few seconds.

When she opened her eyes she saw Terik about to start draining her magic. Twilight teleported above him and fired a sphere of raw magic down on top of him slamming the bad guy down into the ground.

She circled the area and was about to relax when down in the hole Terik tossed a chunk of earth at her. She dodged it and readied another beam but Terik fired one of his own before she was ready. Twilight fired hers and the two collided and would have taken everything in between them if it had been than mere air.

The two titans of power then stopped and stared at each other.

"It would seem that we are at an impasse" Terik finally said "But how about a trade? All of the alicorn magic for your friends?".

The bady guy snapped his fingers, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Discord appeared, contained with an cage. Twilight gasped as her friends tried to tell her not to make any deals.

"I will give you all of the magic for my friends" she agreed "That means Discord too. All of my friends".

"Even after he betrayed you." Terik asked in surprise.

Twilight nodded.

"Very well" the red and black coloured being agreed.

(Line Break)

Outside Ponyville.

It seemed absolutely hopeless. Twilight Sparkle, the violet coloured alicorn princess had just handed over all her alicorn magic, plus the rest of the alicorn magic. It had all been entrusted to her by the other three princesses of the land to avoid the magic falling into the grasp of an evil creature. Unfortunately, Twilight had just handed it all over.

Now Tirek had grown to the size of a Manehattan skyscraper. The sky had also turned red, which probably could have been a residual effect of how powerful the mighty monster had become.

Twilight didn't doubt that Tirek was intent on using his new found power to take over Equestria. And because he had taken all the magic from Twlight, it seemed that there was no one left to stand in the way of him conquering everything.

Whether she could have eventually beaten Tirek in the duel they had before she didn't know for sure, nor did she think it mattered anymore. All Twilight Sparkle could focus on in that moment was how big of a mistake she had just made.

By now all her friends had gathered by her side, the very same ones she had given her power to save. Also there was Spike, the purple baby dragon who lived with and assisted Twilight, plus Discord, the lord of chaos. Twilight demanding he be released by Tirek was the most surprising of all, since he had betrayed Equestria to the fiend.

That was before the former master of chaos had been betrayed by the centaur himself and had his magic taken by him. Discord felt like the biggest fool ever because of this. He finally realised, all too late, that he never should have trusted Tirek. It didn't matter now since the evil being had all this phenomenal power.

While Twilight Sparkle felt just as much guilt as Discord, in that moment being surrounded by her friends once again, she knew somehow that she had made the right choice. It appeared as though not all her friends felt that way, for some were rather vocal about it.

"Twilight, what were you thinking?" Spike asked as he came to the front of the group.

It wasn't her who answered.

"Tirek tricked me into believing he could offer me something more valuable than friendship," Discord interjected as he walked up to the group. "But there is nothing worth more. I see that now."

The being born of chaos reached for the item displayed on a necklace around his neck and held it up for all to see.

"He lied when he said this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty" he was now saying "But when I say that it is a sign of our true friendship..."

Discord removed the medallion and placed it around Twilight's neck.

"I am telling the truth" he finished.

All of a sudden, a rainbow-like light swept across the medallion, not unlike the one that had flashed in Twilight's eyes before she agreed to give into Tirek's demands. It even seemed to restore something in the purple alicorn's eyes that had been lost when Tirek took her magic.

Very similar things had happened to all her friends over the past several weeks when they had been put to the test in representing the Element of Harmony they had once wielded. That was before they had been forced to give up the Elements to save the magic tree which had spawned them.

Almost as a sign of gratitude it seemed, the Tree of Harmony had produced a small chest that had come with six locks that all required a key. However, the chest had not come with any keys, which left the Mane Six, to find them on their own. It had seemed like any hope of finding the keys was impossible since, despite all their searching, the Mane Six seemed unable to locate them.

They had only discovered recently that they had been finding them all along, just not in the way they expected. They had only found five of the six keys required to open the chest, but it seemed as though that was no longer the case.

"You think that might be the last one we need?" Applejack asked, referring to the medallion.

Twilight Sparkle nodded at the southern sounding pony.

"We have to get to the chest" she then said.

Twilight led the charge as she and her friends began to make a run for the Everfree Forest where the chest, and the Tree of Harmony were located. Unfortunately the group didn't get very far before a shadow fell upon them Everyone looked back behind them to see the giant tyrant standing over them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tirek asked "Sure I could just let you run off since you are no longer a threat to me, but where's the fun in that?"

At that moment, everypony felt fear, it was so strong that they were unable to run.

"Tell me, princess, how does it feel knowing you were able to fight me to a standstill only to end up having to give up all your power to me in the end? And for what?! For this bunch? They're of no help to you now" the villain said.

The Alicorn somehow found the will to respond.

"It was never about whether they could help me or not, Tirek," Twilight Sparkle spat back defiantly. "It was about getting my friends back! They mean more to me than all the magic in Equestria. That is something you can never understand".

The villain was amused by this.

"Aww, how sweet," Tirek said mockingly. "Well, my now powerless princess, I do have all the magic worth having in Equestria. I'm gonna turn it on you and your precious friends! And there's nothing you can do to stop me! You fools have absolutely nothing left to fight me with!"

That was when someone else spoke.

"Wrong" said a male voice "You took magic from the ponies of Equestria, not from the land".

Everyone turned to see that Gothic had appeared. He looked tiny compared to the villain, yet he didn't seem scared at all.

"Hello, my name is Planeswalker Gothic" he said "And I'll be killing you today".

Before any pony else could say anything the Planeswalker used one of his cards to make him nearly as massive as the Tirek. The ponies had seen him do this trick once before, only back then he'd cast the spell on Pinkie Pie, and it had been less effective.

When Gothic stomped one of his now massive hooves on the ground, Tirek forced himself to stand tall, to try to look imposing as possible. It still didn't scare Gothic in the slightest.

"Ah, yes, the Planeswalker," Tirek said with a grow. "I recall hearing about you. Discord told me to be careful should we met. However I wield all the magic that once belonged to every princess in Equestria! It is all mine to do with as I wish".

The Planeswalker didn't back down, in fact he smiled, as if this was fun for him.

"Bring it on bitch" he said.

Tirek was actually impressed.

"Let's see if you can live up to all this bravado" the villain said.

Someone else then spoke.

"I wouldn't, Tirek," Discord warned. "If I were you, I'd give up right now".

This advice didn't go down well.

"Well, you're not me," Tirek spat back. "That's why you lost everything, you fool!".

The massive monster then turned back to face the giant Planeswalker.

"Eh, you try to warn some creatures," Discord said as he shrugged.

Discord _,_ also known as the Spirit of Disharmony, had been around for a very long time, and he'd been to many worlds, and he'd seen many interesting things. Few of which had impressed him as much as the Planeswalkers. He'd really enjoyed a fight once that involved a dragon planeswalker and an ancient creature known as the Leviathan. Now that had been a show.

"While Gothic's fighting Tirek, we should probably get to the chest," Fluttershy whispered.

The rest of the mane six diverted their attention.

"Good idea, Fluttershy," Twilight Sparkle whispered back in reply.

Now they were being ignored as the two titans faced off against each other.

"Let's see what you got, tough guy" said Gothic.

Tirek growled out as he began stomping towards the giant Planeswalker. Gothic wasted no time in blasting the villain, striking before the bad guy could do anything. The blast hit Tirek in the chest before moving up to his face, causing a fiery explosions everywhere it touched. This was the most pain Tirek had ever felt in his entire life; the torments of Tartarus didn't even come close to what this was like.

After Gothic ceased firing his magical blast, he stomped over to Tirek as fast as his four legs would carry him. Once he was up close and personal with Tirek, Gothic used a hoof to punch the giant centaur right in face, causing the villain to cry out in agony.

Tirek tried swinging his fists at Gothic, but the human in pony form ducked under both punches before standing up and landing a hoof right on Tirek's face yet again. Tirek screamed as he tried swinging at Gothic yet again, who once more ducked down to avoid the punches.

After all that, Gothic changed tactics as he began slamming his front hooves into Tirek's ribs, stomach, and kidney areas with mighty blows. Tirek tried to scream, only to be silenced as he was stuck in his chest by another of Gothic's mighty blows. Then the massive stallion turned around, and kicked the giant centaur with both of his rear hooves.

"Impressive, Planeswalker, but that won't be nearly enough to save you!" Tirek screamed out as he got up off the ground.

He bent his head down and charged forth at Gothic as fast as he could. It turned out to be nowhere near fast enough. The huge pony was able to side step the attack.

"No!" Tirek screamed as tripped and fell to the ground.

This made Tirek furious to the point where he wanted nothing more than to see Gothic die while he called out for his mother. The magic stealing tyrant screamed once more as he stood up on his back hooves and kicked his fore hooves into Gothic's face, who had been coming closer to Tirek for a finishing move.

The sudden attack caught the Planeswalker off guard and even made him stumble back a little bit. Though, he was able to recover from the surprise attack rather quickly, however it wasn't fast enough for Gothic to avoid Tirek's next assault. The tyrant swung his fists as repeatedly as he could and as fast as he could.

Tirek put his all into every punch which landed upon his foe's face, letting out a scream each time he threw a punch. After eight or so right and left hooks, Tirek ended his assault with an uppercut. But this didn't end up taking Gothic out of the fight like Tirek had been hoping.

Instead, the Planeswalker blasted the bad guy with magic, knocking Tirek back more than a little. The magic thief gasped, wheezed, and struggled for breath as he grasped at his own chest. Those earlier hooves to the ribcage were starting to be felt.

Just when it felt like he was about to be able to breathe right again, Tirek looked to see Gothic coming right at him. The centaur with demonic like horns stood up straight as he ran at Planeswalker. The both of them grabbed each other and began struggling. They pulled, pushed, and shoved at each other in a no holds barred wrestling match. When they stopped both of the huge figured backed away from each other.

"You are indeed most impressive " Tirek said. "It is a pity that two such powerful beings as ourselves waste our power fighting like this. So why not change that? Instead of trying to stop me, why not join me instead? We can take over this world together? We could be... we could be friends!"

Gothic just laughed.

"Planeswalker, think about this! You could have this entire world as your playground!" the villain offered "We could cover this land in evil!".

Gothic laughed some more.

"Oh you think you're evil" the Planeswalker said, once he had stopped laughing "That's just cute".

The centaur growled.

"You don't even know what evil is" Gothic went on to say "You drain ponies of magic. Well I've seen creatures that can feed upon souls. I've seen an army of the dead, and the beings that control them. I've watched battles were hundreds died. You're not the big bad you think you are, your just another monster of the week and after I'm done with you no one will even remember your name".

The villain was now very angry.

"Fine! Be that way, you stubborn pony!" he shouted "If you won't join me, then you can just die!"

Tirek lunged forward as he swung the back of his right elbow into the side of Gothic's head. As the Planeswalker called out in surprise and anger, Tirek kicked his left front hoof into Gothic's right front hoof. This was followed by more blows.

When the attack was over, Tirek expected Gothic to either be stumbling around or better yet to topple over. Instead, the Planeswalker charged forth and rammed his head, horn first, into Tirek's chest, knocking him back a step or two and creating a whole in his chest.

Now feeling great fury, Tirek charged forth, his horns aimed right at Gothic's neck. However all the villain hit was a magical shield. A shield which soon expanded, driving the fiend back.

Had Tirek not been so enraged he would have been smart, and would have have tried to drain the Planeswalker's magic. However he was so enraged lunged at Gothic, screaming as he did so.

The Planeswalker snorted in contempt before firing off a blast of his awesome magical power at Tirek's face and chest. It set off an explosion that nearly engulfed Tirek's entire upper body. The villain was screaming the entire time from the burning pain felt from the beam that plowed into his body with such force.

As Tirek dropped to a knee, no longer being able to fight the pain like he did before, he glared at Gothic with pure hatred.

"You have great power" Tirek said, holding a hand over the whole in his chest "Now, I shall show you mine!"

A sickly aura of energy formed in between Tirek's horn before turning into a huge beam that fired directly into Gothic's chest. The Planeswalker was surprised by how powerful the beam was. It was so powerful that it actually sent him stumbling back a little even with his shield up.

By the time it was over, Gothic was still standing, but he was unprepared for when Tirek came charging up to him. The end of one of the centaur's horns pierced Gothic's shoulder, making him shriek out in pain. Even more surprisingly Tirek's charge ended up having enough force to knock Gothic over and down onto his back.

Tirek continued his assault by firing short bursts of attack magic and bolts of lightning from his horns, all aimed at Gothic. Despite the explosive results of the energy projectiles hitting him, the Planeswalker managed to push himself back onto his hooves.

"How?" the villain asked "How can you still be standing!".

The Planeswalker smiled.

"I knew that fighting you with magic would be pointless, so I used all my mana to cast spells on myself" the world walker explained "You can't beat me".

Tirek roared in rage before running up to meet his opponent head on. The tyrannical centaur somehow managed to scoop up Gothic in his arms. Tirek lifted the Planeswalker into the air before spinning around and slamming him into the ground hard and fast.

Next Tirek stomped and kicked Gothic neck, head, chest, and rib cage, and so on for many moments, though it seemed like he would never stop. Only he did suddenly as massive amount of green mana taken from the land itself came rushing into the Planeswalker via the mox diamonds he wore. There was so much energy that the villain was forced to back away.

"No!" Tirek protested. "No! No! No! No!"

His pleas went unanswered as Gothic got back on his feet. The green aana had fully healed the Planeswalker. In desperation the giant pony had drawn in so much mana into his body that it was making him glow green.

Reacting rather than thinking, a common mistake, the evil centaur used his magic to shoot another powerful beam from his horns. It exploded when meeting Gothic's shield.

The Planeswalker returned the favour sending a massive beam of power at this foe. Tirek acted quickly and used his magic to put a shield around himself, mimicking what he'd seen his enemy do. As soon as the beam hit the magic barrier, it immediately began cracking apart.

Tirek reacted quickly and teleported himself, much to Gothic's irritation. The Planeswalker looked around for his adversary hoping to spot him as soon as he appeared, wherever that may be. It ended up being far off to Gothic left. Tirek appeared and shot a beam of magic at Gothic. However as it turned out the Planeswalker could teleport too.

The tyrannical centaur looked around and as soon as he saw Gothic he shot a magical beam at his foe once more. Gothic turned and shot his own beam. The two attacks met and what happened next made no sense, rather than explode or even cancel each other out, the two beams seemed to push against each other.

This kept going as each magic user provided more and more power into the attack, at first it looked as the beam of sickly looking orange power would made contact with Gothic, only the Planeswalker's will proved to be greater, and soon his silver coloured beam overwhelmed the villain's attack and struck the centaur.

"Oh, no!" Tirek screamed as the powerful blast hit him.

The area around the crater made by the centaur's fallen form shook like the start of a five point one magnitude earthquake. When the rumbling had ended, Tirek was still laying in the crater, dirt and grass covering various parts of his body.

Tirek had fallen and, though he would never admit it, he thought about not getting back up. He had been putting his all into this unexpected fight he had been forced into with Gothic. The entire time it seemed, to Tirek at least, like the Planeswalker was holding back from using lethal force. He could have used his horn right from the start and rammed into Tirek's heart. So why hadn't he? Was the Planeswalker drawing things out because he was enjoying himself?

Rather than ask himself more questions, Tirek got to his feet and concentrated all his magic into the next spell he was preparing to cast. As Tirek's horns began glowing, he stretched out his hands at the Planeswalker, who found himself unable to move. Now the villain knew he could end this.

"And to think, it didn't have to end this way for you," Tirek said. "I offered you a chance to become a ruler at my side and you spat in my face. Now here you are as helpless as can be. Was it worth it trying to protect those worthless ponies you call friends?"

Gothic couldn't answer, he was helpless as the villain prepared to drain him of all his magic.

"Once I've drained you I will turn your power on your friends and destroy them! Wipe them out completely! I will do it in front of you just so you can hear their screams and see their terror as I do it. And finally... I will finish you off... nice and slow".

Well that had been the plan. Only it didn't quite work out as Gothic was now glowing again. This time not even bothering with his Mox Diamond he was drawing mana directly from the land. And as he did he began to change. Jet black wings appeared, and the tip of each feather looked as it had been dipped in silver paint. The battle had moved away from the forests and to the plains so now the Mana was white rather than green.

And as if that wasn't bad enough behind Tirek was none other than mares of the Mane Six, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. They had also changed

Those with wings now had bigger ones that appeared to be covered in rainbows. Their manes and tails had grown to even greater lengths while also gaining rainbow streaks through them. The Mane Six had unlocked the secret power hidden within the chest given to them by the Tree of Harmony. This was the Mane Six, even more powerful than before, Element of Harmony powers with added new super rainbow forms. It was a bit much really. Gothic would later remark that he'd seen more tasteful costumes at gay pride parades.

Tirek had actually turned around and was now gazing in shock at the sight before him, unaware of how the Mane Six could have gotten such power. Once that surprise subsided, Tirek snarled at the re-energised Mane Six before firing a magic beam at the rainbowfied ponies.

Much to Tirek's further suprise his beam didn't even touch the ponies. It was held back by an orb of magical light that protected the Rainbow Mane Six.

"H- How is this possible?" Tirek asked "You have no magic!".

"You're wrong, Tirek!" Twilight Sparkle said with a confident and determined smile "I may have given you my alicorn magic, but we carry within us the greatest magic of all!"

The centuar could feel the power flowing off of them. It was unlike anything the centaur had ever felt from a pony before, they were even powerful than Tirek.

Tirek attacked the Rainbow Mane Six only to be met with a purple beam of energy. Tirek screamed out as the beam burned through his attack, and pushed into his very being. The purple beam was soon joined by several more different coloured beams, which then combined into one giant rainbow attack.

As much as the beam hurt Tirek, he also felt it doing something he considered even worse. He felt all the magical power he had stolen being drained out of him and into the Rainbow Mane Six.

Tirek wanted to yell in protest, but his voice was preoccupied screaming due to much pain he was feeling at that moment. Finally, once all the magic had been taken from Tirek and he had shrunk back to the size he was when he first escaped Tartarus.

To make matters worse the new alicorn was still massive and with little effort he brought a hoof down, and soon was left of Tirek was being scarped off Gothic's hoof. Thankfully none of the Mane Six saw that as they were too busy returning everyone's magic to the rightful owner.

(Line Break)

Thankfully the growth spell didn't last for ever and as I returned to normal size I noticed that the whole glowing thing had stopped. I could only assume that in my giant form I'd been able to draw upon a lot more mana into myself than normal. I also figured that in human form I wouldn't be able to do that as human bodies wouldn't be able to handle that kind of power. Heck even as a unicorn it had been so much of a strain that I'd turned into an alicorn. Perhaps because I'd simply needed to rather than because I deserved it.

I was pleased to know that it was indeed possible for me to draw upon mana directly, which was something Princess Luna had been trying to teach me. The mox diamonds were like power cells, but a true Planeswalker didn't really need them. Still I'd keep them as it was always good to have a little extra juice. Besides I didn't think I'd able to charge the cards without them.

However even with all that power I hadn't defeated that magic stealing centaur, although I might have been able to break the spell which had held me in place.

My trail of thought came to an end as I felt the ground start to lightly shake. My ears picked up the sound of ground breaking going on behind me. I turned around to see that a small section of the ground had cracked and then I saw a rainbow come flying up out of the crack.

"Oh shit did I break this reality?" I asked myself.

I watched the path of the rather tacky light as it continued on across the sky. The trail of hippy colours came to an end at the far edge of Ponyville. Then I watched as a castle, an actual fully constructed castle rose up out of the ground. This was even more of an impressive sight then when I'd created Castle Gothic back in Westeros.

Apparating I made my way over to the newly created castle and when I arrived at my destination, I was surprised to see that this new castle was much larger than it had seemed from a distance.

Then I looked to see that the Mane Six, still doing a Power Rangers impression, who had appeared out in front of the castle. They looked just as shocked as I had been to see this new structure. Even when they transformed back into their normal selves a few seconds later, their shocked expressions did not change.

"Sweet Celestia!" Rarity let out in amazement as she raised a hoof to her mouth. "Are you all seeing what I'm seeing?"

Every pony nodded as they also vocally confirmed they were all seeing the same thing.

"But... who's is it?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

Someone unexpected answered.

"I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight."

We all turned to see Princess Celestia, also here was also her younger sister, Princess Luna and their niece Princess Cadence. Soon we were also joined by Spike and Discord, who was at the back of the group smiling and waving.

"Mine?" Twilight Sparkle asked in disbelief.

Understandably she had trouble believing that.

"Yes, indeed," Celestia answered.

That was when people moved about and starting chattering with each other. Including myself. The wings got me some attention.

"Thank you so much for helping us, Gothic" Rarity said "Or should that be Prince Gothic?".

She wasn't the only one to express thanks.

"Seriously," Applejack added. "If you hadn't of shown up when ya did, we might all have been applesauce by now".

By the sounds of things no one had noticed me squash the bad guy like a bug. They most likely all assumed he was back in Hell. Which he could be, in a different way than they imagined.

"Lucky for you ponies I figured out that when it comes to fighting someone who can drain magic then its a really good idea to hoof them in the face" I said.

Magic required focus, and its hard to focus when you're in pain.

"But how did you know we were in trouble?" Spike asked.

I soon answered that question.

"Well I tried to investigate on my own. But Tirek kept moving around and I can only teleport to places I can picture in my mind so I couldn't keep up with him" I explained "He'd always vanished before I caught up".

There had been a lot of running about. Guess that wouldn't be an issue here at least as in my new alicorn form I could fly. Not that I really wanted to.

"I think we can all guess who was responsible for that," Rainbow Dash said as she crossed her forelegs.

Everyone turned to Discord, who looked away in shame. He was somewhat comforted when Fluttershy reached out a hoof and took his lion paw. The two smiled at each other happily.

"I'm just glad that Tirek didn't steal your power," Applejack said to me "If he had done that, he would've been darn near unstoppable".

That got me thinking about some pony.

"I wonder where Sombra is?" I asked loudly enough to be heard by all "He's a sort of alicorn. Did Tirek go after him?".

Discord then came over to me.

"You know I totally forgot about him" the chaos lover admitted "I sent him away to a tropical island so he could relax. I hope he's okay".

I had a mental image of Sombra lying on a deck chair drinking out of a coconut while being fanned by mares in grass skirts. Then I wondered why I wasn't off doing that. Then again knowing his luck he was most likely stuck in the middle of a tropical storm.

"Speaking of alicorns" said Princess Celestia "Seems we have a prince among us".

Oh yeah I had wings now, and possibly an Earth Pony's powers as well.

"Well I'm going to need a castle" I said.

Then another thought struck me.

"What exactly am I the prince of, anyway?" I asked.

Hopefully it wasn't something girly. Not that I worried about this too much as I'd just noticed that Twilight Sparkles Planeswalker Spark was now online. Which meant that with some training she'd be able to travel the multiverse like I could.

I felt sorry for the multiverse.

(Line Break)

Princess Luna's Chambers. Canterlot.

"She has the right to know" I told Luna who had finished raising the moon "About being a Planeswalker I mean".

The female alicorn turned to face me as she rested on some pillow, moving a big lump of rock with magic was hard work.

"I agree with you" she said "But it isn't up to us. My sister is Twilight's mentor, besides she has plans for her".

Which didn't sit well with me. I knew it was important that Twlight become a proper princess as Celesita had been ruling along for a thousand years. Granted things had been more restless recently, and did need help, but I thought it unfair to Sparkle that she should spend her existence protecting this one realm.

"She shouldn't be your concern" Princess Luna stated "You should be thinking about yourself. You're a prince now, and princes rule".

I sighed.

"Luna, I didn't become an alicorn because I earned it, I'm not Twilight I wouldn't have made the deal she did. I became one because my unicorn body couldn't handle the amount of power I was channeling" I explained "I'm not ruler".

The Princess got up and trotted over to me.

"Are you so sure?" she asked "I think you could be a good leader, even if you aren't heroic, and you could rule at my side. Prince of... well we can worry the title later".

An interesting offer if it meant what I thought it meant. Not that I was sure if I could love a pony. I kinda missed females with boobs.

"I'm married you know" I reminded her.

Luna smiled.

"To a mortal" she pointed out "A mortal living in a very dangerous world, from what you've told me. Best not to get attached".

I hadn't.

"That's not what matters" I replied "What I meant was that I have things to do elsewhere".

I really should get back to Westeros and check up on things. Maybe pick up presents for ponies while I was there. Plus I still wanted to deal with Dumbledore somewhere down the line. And there was immortality, that was till tempting. Oh and so many other worlds worth exploring.

"Just give me some time to think" I requested of Luna.

A few years should do it.


	32. GOT 14

**Reviews**

dragonman1424

Conquering the Wizarding World isn't on the agenda. Although dealing with Dumbledore and a few other tossers is. Conquest is not at all appealing to PG, he's on a path to becoming to a magical god, ruling over a bunch of foolish wand wavers would just be a distraction. Much better worlds out there to rule over in any case.

DiveLord

The Carebears, I didn't plan that, but I am so going to use that idea, I will spare you the details.

Summoning up a creature made of magical energy seemed like a really bad idea when fighting someone who eats magic. It might have transferred the summon's abilities, making everything worse, that was Twilight's job.

Thanks for reminding me of Darksteel Armour, totally going to use that in the future.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 14**

 **Gargoyle Castle. Equestria**

Rather than use the same card that I had the last time I'd needed a castle, when creating a new home for myself here, I had used the card Gargoyle Castle. It was rather a scary looking place, that I had made appear not too far from Ponyville and Canterlot up on some cliffs that overlooked a large lake. I owned this land so it was mine to do with as I pleased.

Mostly I'd done this so the ponies would leave me alone, allowing me to spend some time on my magical education, also I'd figured that the locals needed a scary things around to remind them that not everything in the multiverse was all hugs and puppies.

Being in this castle so far from other ponies had allowed me to devote a lot of time to study and experimenting. Now that I had learned to channel Mana more directly I wasn't limited to what spells I knew that required my internal magic, nor did I need to depend so much on my cards. They were now, like my wand and sword, just tools to be used as required rather than required equipment.

Through experimentation and practice I'd learned to gather Mana directly, and to use it in simple ways. Mostly this involved blasting things with raw Mana, which had actually been a good place to start as it allowed me to discover that different kinds of Mana were more effective for destroying stuff up. For example blasting people with Green Mana could actually make them stronger, I'd discovered this when trying to destroy an old tree. I'd made the plant bloom again, like it was spring. Which made sense as Green Mana was about nature, death and renewal.

White Mana was better for defence than attack, it also enhanced. Blue Mana was for control, mind magic and water. While Black Mana killed things, it did it by withering them, taking life away which wasn't going to be much good against the undead. Red Mana, that was what I needed to make things go boom. If I could gather enough I wouldn't need a dragon to burn the White Walkers and their wights, I'd be able to it myself. At least in my alicorn form, as a human I wasn't sure if I would be able to channel that kind of power, which was why my mox diamonds were still handy to have. I could use them like batteries when I needed extra juice. Still it would be handy if I could figure out how to shape shift, so far the only trick in that department I could do was turn myself into mist, something Princess Luna had taught, and I disliked doing that as it was really strange being mist.

Currently I was packing everything away, putting the books I was going to leave behind on shelves and equipment I didn't need into chests. I was doing this as I planned to leave Equestria for quite some time. Perhaps I'd never come back, perhaps I would. All I was sure of was that it was time to return to Westeros, hopefully those idiots had managed not to destroy their own civilisation while I'd been elsewhere.

"Doors exist for a reason, Twilight" I said as the Princess of Friendship as she teleported into my study.

She at least had the decency to look guilty, although I felt that it was wasteful to teleport out, knock on the door to my study, and then teleport back in again. A waste of magical energy.

While this was going I was using my own powers to pack things into my bag of holdings, which was not a waste of power as I lacked hands in this form and that made packing rather tricky.

"Are you leaving again?" Miss Sparkle asked of me.

I nodded my head.

"Yep" I then said "I'm off to explore more of the multi-verse".

Hopefully it would less horrific than my last trip to another plane of existence.

"Without telling me?" Twilight asked.

She was taking this news better than I'd imagined.

"You've been locked up in this spooky castle of yours weeks" she was now saying "and you haven't once come to visit me. Now your leaving. Is this about the bears?".

I shuddered.

"We agreed never to mention that" I reminded her "At least not the part about me turning in stuffie".

It had been a nightmare. Twilight Sparkle had Planeswalked, not on purpose, and while in the Howling she'd tried to make it to Canterlot, to seek help from Celestia, only she ended up in Carealot, the home of the Care Bears. Which would have been fine only I was the poor sod who'd been sent after her. Had I known where she'd gone I'd never have agreed to go after her.

Yet I had, and thanks to a special enchanted item I'd been able to Planeswalk to where Twilight had ended up, and since it took time to sort of recharge between using my Planeswalking I'd been forced to spend three days in Carealot. Three days trapped in the form of a freaking cuddly toy. Three days spent with creatures who spent all their time, singing, dancing, playing, and hugging. It was like Pinkie Pies's ideal afterlife. I'd thought the ponies were bad, they had nothing on the Carebears.

Had I been capable of hostile magic while there I might have destroyed Carealot, alas I'd been rendered more or less powerless. Twilight had liked place, she'd spent hours writing reports for Princess Celestia about how much the bears and the ponies had in common. The Carebears were two legged ponies who had Cutie Marks on their stomachs as she saw it.

When we'd finally gotten back, arriving in Ponyville. I'd badly wanted a drink, and Lord Sombra had extended an invite to his home not that long ago, offering to share his stockpile of Granny Smith's famous cider with me. I'd assumed he simply wanted to hang out with another male alicorn, or even to enlist me in some world domination scheme.

Not that it mattered now as when arriving at his tasteful manor house I'd bumped into Princess Luna. She'd been mentoring me in using Blue Mana ever since I'd become an Alicorn, and she had seemed to be grooming me as more than an apprentice. Thanks to her I knew how to enter dreams, and to mess about with the weather. All I could do for now was wind and some clouds, but that was cool.

then I'd found her sneaking out of Sombra's home, she'd had a big smile on her face so it wasn't hard to figure out that those two were being all friendly. Perhaps they were just plotting to take over the world together, but still it had upset me.

"I'm leaving because I'm a Planeswalker" I told Twilight "I walk the Planes, the clue is in the name".

There wasn't much point having the ability to go anywhere in the multi-verse if you didn't use it. Besides I was a lot more powerful now than I had been mere weeks ago. I should be safe enough no matter where I went. As long as I wore some darksteel armour and kept my sword close.

"I can come with you" the alicorn offered "But only for a few days, it could be like a vacation".

There were a number of reasons why that wouldn't work. For starters I didn't know when, if it all, I'd be back. Second I was heading for Westeros, and while I couldn't sure if Westeros would break Twilight or if she'd break Westeros, but I was sure I didn't want to find out.

"I'll come back for a visit" I promised.

It did make sense to have somewhere to come to when I fancied a break, however I couldn't stay here in the long term, not when there was still so much to see and do.

"Well you better" Twilight "Or I'll come looking for you".

That was a scary idea, and before I could discourage her from such a foolish idea she teleported out.

(Line Break)

 **Ruins of Harranhall. The Riverlands.**

As King Stannis Baratheon surveyed what was left of Harrenhal, he knew immediately that the place would never again serve as an effective fortress, even if some serious repairs were made. It was as if the gods themselves had laid the place low.

"As Ned Stark is found of saying, winter is coming," Stannis said to his squire Devan Seaworth, son of Davos Seaworthy, aka the Onion Knight "I can feel an ill wind coming from the north".

Little did he know that the cold winds were only a warning of what was to come.

"Yes, Your Grace," Devan replied. "It is getting chilly".

They felt the wind blowing from the north, and Stannis knew that if he acted it would have to be soon. Summer had ended and Winter was not the time for campaigning. It was a time to hole up in a stronghold or city. Before that he had ensure he'd enough supplies and that his men were kept well feed until spring.

Looking across the army camp as well as the ruin of Harrenhal he knew he could not stay here. He either had to go forward and attack the Lannisters and Casterly Rock now, before winter came, or he had to return to King's Landing and wait out the winter. Casterly Rock was a bastion that would not fall in one swift strike. A siege could last for months, and first he had to defeat the Lannister armies in the field.

Of allies he had few. Ned Stark, who Stannis had found locked away deep in the Red Keep, had returned home to rule Winterfell once more. His son, Robb Stark was King in the North, a title that Stannis disliked but tolerated, like how the Dornish had their princes.

Besides after taking Kingslanding, Stannis didn't have enough men to challenge the North and the Westerlands both. Best to let the Young Wolf play at being king, the boy had at least acknowledged Stannis's claim to the Iron Throne, and he in exchange for the North's indepence Robb Stark had agreed to end the latest Greyjoy Rebellion and put Theon Greyjoy in this father's place. That would make the North stronger as Theon and Robb were friends, but there was little Stannis could do about that either.

The North was a harsh place, the Riverlands had suffered greatly in the recent wars and could barely defend their own lands with what men they had left. So while both of those places weren't part of the Seven Kingdoms anymore they weren't exactly big losses for Stannis, who had other things to worry about. And Lord Tully had granted free passage for Stannis's army as part of a peace treaty.

The Vale still refused to send him any soldiers or food. Lysa Arryn had sent pledges of loyalty to him, but he cared little for that. Words were wind without deeds to back them up. He had need of her knights and cavalry. In his anger he ordered that she be arrested and dragged in chains to King's Landing, but Ser Davos, who was now serving as Hand of the King, had reminded his monarch that this would only give them one more enemy and one more front to fight on so Stannis had stayed his wrath.

At least he had the Tyrell's support, for now, but that support was grudgingly given, as he held Lord Mace Tyrell's children hostage in King's Landing. Well what was left of the city.

They had been with his younger brother Renly when the fool had laid siege to Kingslanding, the defenders, under the command of Ceresi Lannister, who was reported to be growing ever more unstable, had tried to defend the city with Wildfire, her army had killed Renly and many of his brother's supports, but they'd also burned down half of the city they'd been trying to hold. At least the Red Keep hadn't been too badly damaged.

For now the Tyrell army was on the Golden Road, blocking any match by the Lannisters to King's Landing. But they could easily turn around and march towards King's Landing. As for the Dornish, his letters to them were answered by Prince Doran, who in diplomatic terms had told Stannis to bugger off and leave them alone.

The King of some kingdoms, wrapped his cloak around his body as he looked to the cold grey skies. Winter was coming, and soon, although it was still autumn, and this winter was supposed to be long and cold. Only the gods knew how long it would last.

The King's trail of thought came to an end as he Hand joined in him looking over the ruins of Harrenhal.

"I must make a decision. Press on to the west or return to King's Landing" Stannis said "What do you advise?".

The Onion Knight spent a moment thinking. Currently Stannis had Dragonstone, the Crownlands, and the Stormlands under his control, and had an alliance with the Reach, the Riverlands and the North. Dorne and the Vale were staying neutral. However if Stannis claimed the Westerlands and their gold mines he would have the money he needed to support a larger army. But if he lost one of the other Kingdoms might take advantage of perceived weakness, and make a grab for the Iron Throne".

"Well Your Grace" he said "The way I see it is faster we defeat the Lannisters the faster we can return to Kingslanding. Winter is coming, but its not here yet. You have your brother's men and the Starks captured or killed most of the important Lannisters, leaving a mad woman in charge with her young son. Neither of them are commanders, if Tywin Lannisters was still alive I'd worry but he was killed trying to escape Castle Gothic".

Davos no doubt had more to say, but Stannis took over.

"Any word of that wizard?" he asked "If he destroyed Harrenhall, maybe he can do the same to Casterly rock?".

Davos shook his head.

"I've been sending raven to Ned Stark, but he's heard nothing of the one they call the Baron, and Robb Stark is still in the Iron Islands, dealing with Greyjoy. At least the Iron Born sacked Lannisport, that should work in our favour".

Stannis spent a few moments thinking.

"I am suppose to be ruling all of the Seven Kingdoms" he said after a while "Yet it seems I must settle for what I can take, and that is the Westerlands. Then let us waste no time. We must write many letters before we leave. Call for the maesters. Soon we will be invading the Lannister lands. It is time to end this war, now, before winter comes. See to your men. We are going west".

Cersei Lannister had claimed her son Tommen was the rightful King of Westeros, Stannis intended to deal with that usurper himself. Then once winter had come and gone, he'd look to restoring the Seven Kingdoms.

(Line Break)

 **Castle Gothic. The Riverlands.**

When I returned to Westeros I appeared within the walls of Castle Gothic and had expected to find it occupied by the Northern Army or the Riverrun Army, as it turned out there was hardly anyone here at all, which seemed odd since I'd created the castle right next to the King's Road. Using it as a staging point would allow the Northern Army to quickly march upon Kingslanding. However that wasn't the case.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Samwell Tarley, as we walked into what passed for a throne room in this castle.

Before he answered I used the card Throne of Empires to give myself a seat worthy of a Planeswalker. Samwell was a little shocked by this despite having seen me use magic before and needed some time to adjust before speaking.

"King Robb made a deal with King Stannis" Sam explained "To recognise the indepence of the North, and the Riverlands, which now part of the North, in exchange for this King Robb promised to deal with the Iron Islands".

So Stannis had taken the Iron Throne, or at least that was what sounded like if he was making these kinds of deals. Seemed rather generous from what I knew of Stannis, however he didn't have that evil Red Woman whispering in his ear. Plus he might be planning to reunite the kingdoms later on.

"Did Stannis take King's Landing?" I asked.

Sam nodded.

"Well what's left of it" he then told me "From what I heard half of it burned down when the Lannisters used wildfire on Lord Renly's army. They killed him, and some woman who was part of his Kingsguard, only the wildfire got out of control, half the city is ashes".

Bloody hell.

"After Lord Renly died" Samwell went on to say "King Stannis took some of Renly's men into his army and managed to capture Lord Mace Tyrells two children, which forced the Tyrells to join Stannis".

Sam was very well informed about what was going on. I was impressed.

"When King Stannis attacked Kingslanding, the Lannisters retreated to the Westerlands, and now King Stannis is marching to the Westerlands while King Robb is travelling to the Iron Islands" I was being told "Oh and the Vale and Dorne aren't doing anything".

Things seemed to have gone on well without me, not counting Kingslanding burning down. Perhaps I should have mentioned that wildfire to someone.

"And there's good news" Sam said "Lord Stark, Jon's father that is, was found alive in the Red Keep".

This surprised me.

"King Stannis set him free, and Jon killed Tywin Lannister when he tried to escape, some sell swords sneaked in and attempted to free him, but Jon stopped them" I was then told.

Of course he had.

"That was before he left to go to the Iron Islands with Robb" Sam informed me "He waited here for months for you, but after half a year we thought you weren't coming back".

Had it really been six months since I'd left?

"So King Robb made Jon the Lord of Moat Calin, so you don't have a Master at Arms anymore" I was then told.

I didn't seem to have much of anyone anymore. There was hardly anyone here.

"So the guards that are left, did King Robb leave them behind?" I wondered.

Samwell nodded.

"Yes my lord" he said "and there's few things you need to deal with as Lord of Harrenhal, well the lands called Harrenhall not the castle. You destroyed that castle".

And good riddance to it. Horrible place.

"As for the town, well that's gone now, and all the people either died or ran off so you don't have any smallfolk to worry about" Sam told me.

My reaction was not subtle.

"What the hell!" I swore "Who destroyed the town?".

It had been called Harrentown or something like that.

"The Lannister army burned it down, and killed nearly all the smallfolk" Samwell informed me.

Again I didn't react well.

"Bloody hell!" I swore.

Sam did his best to ignore my outbursts.

"Wait what happened to the Imp?" I asked.

He was suppose to be Lord of Casterly Rock by now.

"Oh he went home" reported Sam "got there before the rest of the Lannisters did, don't know what's happening to him now".

Hopefully he wasn't dead I'd grown somewhat found of the dwarf back when he'd been captured by the Stark Army. Which was more than I could say for his father, that guy had not lived up to his reputation.

"We're also low on supplies, and unless you can make an entire town out of magic I don't think any merchants will be visiting, and even if they did the quartermaster doesn't have any money to buy things with".

Well I could conjure up money, as for a town, well I had cards for a lighthouse, an Adventurers' Guildhouse, Library of Alexandria, School of the Unseen, it was be a bit of mish mash, but it would be a town.

As for the supplies, well it looked like a shopping trip was in my future.

(Line Break)

 **Casterly Rock. The Westerlands.**

Cersei Lannister knelt in prayer at the foot of her father's sarcophagus deep within Casterly Rock. She very rarely did this, but today she prayed, not that it would do any good.

In the long, torch lit hall two rows of stone sarcophagi were placed across from each other, the final resting place of generations of Lannisters, men for the most part, with just a few women who'd died without taking a husband's name.

Kings of the West laid here, in the oldest tombs, then after the Targaryen conquest those who became Wardens of the West and Lords of Casterly Rock. Now her father, whose body had been returned home, would rest with them. Across from his eldest son, who was in the tomb behind Cersei.

Out of all her deceased family members only one had ever been king of all of Westeros, her son Joffrey. Yet he was not here where he belonged. His body was never recovered. He'd died in a fall from the Red Keep during the Battle of King's Landing and was burned by the very wildfire meant to protect him. Cersei's heart ached when she thought on how her boy must have been terrified, falling from the battlements from so great a height. Such a terrible way to die.

Her father and son were dead, as was her lover/brother, and there was nothing that she could do to undo the events that had led to their deaths. Despite all his cruelty and failures as a King, she felt Joffrey still should be here with these other great men, besides his grandfather, the greatest of them all.

Cersei got off her knees, stood up and touched her father's sarcophagus. If her father were alive the Lannisters would still have hope, Cersei knew this in her heart. Her father would had held Kingslanding. He never would have let them retreat from Stannis. The soldiers of House Lannister would have never have run. But run they had, here to Casterly Rock.

"Cersei," said a quiet voice said, dragging her out of her thoughts.

She turned swiftly and in the glow of the flickering torchlight she saw her brother Tyrion, the Imp, now Lord of Casterly Rock and Hand of the King, because there was no else to be. He stood nearby the tomb of their grandfather. She had not heard him enter the crypt hall, which was odd as everyone's footsteps echoed in this place.

"What do you want?" she demanded to know.

Even after all these years she still could not treat him with anything but contempt.

"We have matters to discuss. A council meeting" Tyrion said to her

She had forgotten.

"Very well. I was just paying my respects to father" she said "How often do you pray for his soul?"

Tyrion shrugged.

"You know I am not a pious man" he said.

She laughed harshly, and it echoed in the vaulted chamber.

"No, I suppose the gods hold no appeal for you since they did such a poor job in making you" she replied.

Tyrion sighed.

"Dear sister, I think we are a bit too old to be using such trivial taunts to hurt each other anymore" he said.

His sister didn't think so.

"I was only stating what is true" Cersei answered him.

The Imp said nothing on that matter.

"We have too many enemies outside our walls to argue with each other" the dwarf stated.

This was true, but his sister rarely saw reality as he did.

"Stannis still sits in his ruined city," Cersei replied, with confidence she shouldn't have "He is waiting for the winter snows to come and go before he moves".

Winter wasn't quite here yet, but it seemed to be a rush to start. No one knew why, even the Maesters were confused.

"He could still attack before the snows came" The Imp pointed out "In fact it looks as if he will".

Cersei paid great attention to this bit of news.

"Stannis is on the move?" she asked "When? Where?"

Surely not here, she hoped.

"To Harrenhal, or what's left of it" Tyrion answered "Spies report a large body of men with the stag banner marching up the Kingsroad. How many we don't know. They are more than likely at Harrenhal by now, our spies also report that Stannis didn't believe the castle was gone".

Which admittedly was hard to believe, even dragons hadn't actually totally destroyed the place, yet one wizard had managed the feat it seemed.

"Gods," Cersei said under her breath. "We have so few men here".

The Lannister army had been forced to retreat so many times that many men had defected, or simply run a way, a lot of them had died when the wildfire had started burning the city.

"Come, sister" the Imp urged "Our council awaits. We have much to discuss"

It wasn't much of a council, but it was the council of the true king, and Cersei needed to put them to work.


	33. GOT 15

**Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 15**

 **Bloodraven's Cave. North of the Wall.**

I'd not kept track of how many times I'd stood before the green-seer, but it couldn't have been too many times as this cave was still a little strange to me, and this was coming from a guy who'd fought a magic eating centaur while in the from of a giant pony. Spooky it was.

"So how are things?" I asked the three eyed raven "I think its chilly, do you think its chilly".

I'd noticed the cold wind blowing in from the north, and somehow I didn't think it was natural. Here however it wasn't so bad.

"The Night King gather his forces, and uses his power to hurry winter" the seer told me "He is moving faster than expected".

I could guess as to why. The fighting in the time line wasn't anywhere near as bad as it been in the show. Most of Westeros was actually rather peaceful from what I understood. Sure Stannis was marching on the Westerlands, but with the Stark family secure in the north, and so many prisoners of war being sent to the Wall, the Night King had more to worry about. Plus Bran had started his training earlier, and my brother-in-law was here too. Add to that there was me, and I'd grown much more powerful since I'd last visited this cave. Combine all that and no wonder the Night King was in a rush.

"Any idea where the Night King is?" I asked the seer.

He shook his head.

"Okay so any where any of the Walkers are?" was my next question.

I might as well kill some more of them. Might improve the weather. Besides the whole point of killing three of them last time was to slow their progress, that hadn't worked, but killing more of them might make the Night King even more desperate, and desperate people make mistakes. Assuming the Walkers counted as people. I was ensure of that.

"Yes" the seer told me "One is moving towards Craster's Keep, to collect one of sons".

This had potential.

"Just the one?" I wondered "Its not another trick is it?".

Not that an ambush would do much good as I could teleport.

"I am certain" assured Bloodraven "I have tracked the Walker's progress closely, the others are focused on the Night's Watch, hundreds of the Crows had come north of the Wall, they are seeking something".

The Night's Watch wasn't my concern.

"Well I'm off to Caster's Keep" I decided "Might as well deal with him".

I'd look up a transfiguration spell and turn him into something. He wasn't worth putting in a card or murdering.

"You're not going alone" insisted Meera "The boys are safe enough here. I'll come with you. Watch your back".

Well she was my wife. Might be an idea to spend some time with her.

(Line Break)

 **Castle Gothic. The Riverlands.**

While pointing my wand at the unconscious man before me I cast a silent Enervate and the man snapped back to being awake with a gasp, a moment later he was looking around frantically. Noticing first his bindings, he quickly searched for a means of escape before his eyes fell on me, and they widened almost comically in my view.

"So you're the person responsible for the attempt on my life" I said "but more importantly you killed my wife. Not to mention, you killed at least two other people for no reason other than to try to get close enough to make an attempt on my life. Then you go and stab the wrong person".

Wisely, the man didn't try to deny it, instead choosing to remain silent. He'd really fucked up. He'd hadn't bothered to check that the lump under the sheets of my bed was actually me. Granted in the dark it was an easy mistake to make even with Meera being a fraction of my size.

Her death annoyed me more than upset, and while I found it a little sad that was because just yesterday she'd killed a White Walker with nothing more than an arrow that's head was made of dragon class. I doubted the Walker had even known we were there. As for Craster's son we'd given him back to his mother. Craster was dead, although I hadn't killed him. I'd turned him into a pig and one of his daughters/wives had done the deed. After celebrating Meera had gone it like two rabbits, and then after taking a break I'd found her dead in my bed. Not a nice end to the day.

"Now I know you are a member of the Faceless men, meaning that your here because someone wants me dead, and they willing to pay a lot for my life to be ended" I was now saying "I am far more interested in the hand holding the weapon than I am the weapon itself".

Had this man, if he was a man, not killed Meera I would have been amused that Samwell Tarley had managed to capture him.

"Now if you answer my questions honestly, what happens next can be painless for you" I went on to say "But should you resist, I will cause you more pain than you can possibly imagine".

I'd never used the Cruico curse, but I understood the theory and I was itching to try it out on this guy. Alas Unicorn wands didn't do well with dark magic so I'd have to use a card. If these Faceless Men didn't die they at least they could contained. Which meant I was bluffing.

"What does a man wish to know?" the assassin asked me.

I had expected I'd have to torture him, I was actually disappointed. I was sure I could improvise something to cause pain.

"You were hired to kill me, correct?" I asked.

It was clear he had, since I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to kill Meera unless it was too hurt me, but the Faceless Men didn't strike me as the kind of assassins who took those sort of jobs.

"Yes," he replied succinctly.

I had more to ask.

"Your methods seem sloppy" I said "Why didn't you try to slip something in my drink, why try to stab me?".

Meera's death had been a little gruesome for a professional hit. More serial killer than assassin.

"You are a difficult man to get close to, this man failed to find you for many weeks" the killer said "So this man took a risk and tried to bring the gift".

That made sense. He must have been desperate to kill while I was here in the castle.

"So who wants me dead?" was my next question.

There were only so many people capable of affording such a thing, though I could think of more than a few people willing to pay. The Lannisters, whoever ran the Faith of the Seven, the Red Priests maybe.

"A man does not know" the assassin said "A servant of many faced god does not ask questions".

That was most likely true. So I'd have to go to the House of Black and White to find out. Which meant a sea voyage since I couldn't teleport that far.

"When your order learns of your failure here, will they send another one of you after me?" I wondered.

The assassin nodded.

"And should the person who issued the contact die, would they stop coming after me?" was my next question.

I wasn't even sure you could kill the Faceless Men, they changed faces as such I might kill the wrong people. so it was best to get the contract undone.

"Should the man who made the contract die, we shall never receive full payment and the contract is void" I was told.

This was good news.

"Very good" I said "Thank you for your cooperation."

I then got up, freed the assassin, passed the man a blank card he took and vanished into it.

(Line Break)

 **Braavos. Esso.**

It was a clear, warm night in Braavos. Yet the Secret City was as busy as Kingslanding under the bright light of day, or at least as busy as it had been the last time I'd seen that city. Most of it was gone now from what I'd heard, and I could have prevented it. That did not still well with me, but I refused to let guilt cripple me. I could still save this world, and then after that I'd stop getting involved.

Currently some mummers, what the locals called actors, were busy putting on a show, crowds of people were packed in a square shoulder to shoulder so they could see the performance. I didn't stay to watch I had important business.

Next I passed through some kind of night market, and I was very impressed by what I saw, fine silks, bottles of things I could only guess at, wines, fruits, spices, there were even whores offering themselves, but they held no interest to me. Although I did stop to pick rolls of Myrish lace and silk for Rarity, she'd always been generous to me, and I was glad that I'd emptied by bag of holding before coming back to Westeros. Hopefully at some point I'd be able to go back and give the gifts too her.

After leaving the market and heading towards the temples I saw large congregation of R'llohr's followers who were heading towards their big red temple, I considered slaughtering them all for what they worshipped but it was too soon to make my move against them. White Walkers first and then R'llohr.

Next I saw a few Westerosi sailors knelled before the statues of the Seven in what I heard called 'the Sept-Beyond-the-Sea', but as far as I knew the Seven didn't even exist so I ignored that temple.

Then there was the House of Black and White, I made my way into the house, and found dim torchlight lighting the place, stone floors, and the numerous depictions of death which the order held sacred. In the centre of the main room, a body was being pulled away from the pool, limp and lifeless.

Then I came to what I mentally called the Hall of Faces. The faces rested along the walls and pillars of the room, stretching from the floor to the ceiling. A few of the faces were missing, no doubt currently serving as the disguises for one of the assassins.

"Nice place you have here" I said to a robed figure.

He soon replied. Or at least it sounded like a he.

"Baron Gothic" the 'man' said in a soft voice.

Then I saw movement and spotted a woman, she had not been sneaking on me which was why I didn't attack.

"I think it is clear why you are here," the woman said "you discovered our brother while he was attempting to complete his contract. You killed him to ensure that he would no longer be a threat. And now you have come to threaten us into standing down".

More or less.

"You're mostly correct" I told the woman "He was captured after he killed my wife, and he also killed two other people. He's not dead, but he's not coming back here. He's going somewhere far away".

One of these days I'd find a dumping ground for all the people I'd put into cards.

"I'm aware that it would take the death of the one who made the contract before your order will leave me and mine alone" I said "The one who made the contract will soon be dealt with"

No one tried to contradict me. They were tense, each of them understanding the danger of the situation.

"I am certain that your current contract on me will be null and void within days," I went on to say "So dispatching another of your number to attack me, would obviously be futile. So, I am here to discuss the future, your future to be specific".

While I wasn't sure if I could kill these people I was sure that I could destroy their temple.

"And what exactly would you like to say with regards to our future?" the man asked calmly.

I soon told him.

"Should anyone ever come to you again, seeking a contract for my death or the death I am close to you will refuse" I stated. "Now from what I've heard your order frowns on killing those who are not specifically named in the contract, you are after all professionals who give the gift, not crude killers".

Mostly this was guess work, but it was back up from things I'd heard during the voyage here. Even sailors were willing to talk about this place if you paid them enough. It helped to give them wine as well.

"And if we refuse these conditions of yours, what will you do?" the woman asked.

I formed a fireball in my hand.

"Simple, I'll kill you all and every member of your order I can find. Therefore introducing you to the god you serve so diligently" I answered "Then I will destroy this temple".

I saw flicker of fear in their eyes then, despite their training and the image they had learned to project as a result. They couldn't hide that fear, it was too primal.

"It would seem that our decision is an easy one" the man said.

I did like it when things worked out.

"As long as you leave me and my people alone, there will be no issue between us" I promised.

The servants of the god of death looked at each other. Then the man looked at me.

"You have our oath that this order shall take out no contract on you or yours" he promised.

I was pleased.

"Good now if you would just tell who wants me dead I will deal with them" I said.

I was soon told.

"It is a man called the Spider who wishes you dead. The Master of Whispers" I was informed.

Really, Verys. Shame I liked him. But he had to die.

"We will be awaiting word of his death. But should nothing be heard on the matter within the month, we will be obligated to assign another to fill the contract" I was warmed.

To be expected, they were professionals after all. However I wasn't foolish enough to trust them. I'd keep moving around to make myself a harder target, and if anyone died around me in unnatural ways I'd level this temple. The only reason I hadn't already done it was because I'd needed answers, and once I had those answers I'd made a deal.

"That will not be a problem" I said, before teleporting away.

(Line Break)

 **Highgarden. The Reach.**

"My wife's only been dead for a week" I said to Olenna Tyrell.

Currently her ladyship and I sat in one of the many gardens this place was named for. It was colder than expected, the White Walkers were moving faster than expected even with their losses, bringing the winter with them, but it wasn't here yet. There were still some leaves on the trees.

I'd gotten a raven not long after returning from Braavos. A message from Olenna Tyrell requesting a private meeting. Since Highgarden wasn't that far the Riverlands I'd apparted here, although the trip hadn't been pleasant. I'd not left anything behind, but it sure felt as if I did.

Thankfully I'd never gotten attached to Meera Reed, I'd spent a matter of hours with her overall. Finding her dead had been a might upsetting, but I'd soon avenge that loss.

"From what I've heard she vanished months ago" Lady Olenna was now saying "Along with her brother and Brandon Stark. Are they dead too?".

I decided to tell the truth, or at least most of it.

"No they're fine" I said "An assassin killed Meera, hired to kill me. I've taken care of the matter, they won't be coming after me again".

Given that her father had died in my castle and that I was connected to her brother's death it would make sense that Ceresi Lannister was behind the attempt to kill me. But no it had been Verys, that bloody Spider. I was going to have to ask Bloodraven to find the man so I could hunt the Master of Whispers and end him. None sense having a magical seer on your side if you didn't make use of him. Although given that the Spider was known to loathe magic it seemed odd he'd hired the faceless men.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Lady Olenna said "even though it suits my needs. My offer still stands save Loras and Margaery, and you can have Margaery for a wife. Or if you prefer you can have Loras".

That was not at all tempting.

"I've just been widowed" I reminded the old woman.

She didn't seem to care.

"A woman from a minor house you barely ever saw" she argued "what was she compared to Margaery Tryell, the most desirable woman in the Seven Kingdoms".

That was up for debate. She talked to much in my opinion, and was a bit too skinny for my tastes. Also I had to respect Lady Olenna she seemed to be very knowledgeable. Had to have one heck of spy network to know that my wife hadn't been seen for months.

"She could do better than me" was what I said next "My House is a minor one too".

Lady Olenna huffed.

"She wanted to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms" the old woman replied "First she married Renly, a well know sword swallower and now another king has her locked up, and not only he is too old, he's already married. Who's left, that Tommen boy?".

That would be a bad idea.

"Ceresi is mad, and so was Joffery, I doubt the rest of them are any different" her ladyship was now saying "and then there's your King, Robb Stark, now he'd be a good husband I'm sure, only he married a Dornish Princess".

Perhaps if Tywin were still alive the Tyrells would side with the Lions, but Ceresi would never agree, not after losing her eldest. Besides everyone knew she'd gone mad and the Lannisters weren't going to last much long. Lannisport had been raided by the Iron Born, also Stannis was marching into the Westerlands, with Tyrell support.

"Will Margaery even agree to the marriage?" I asked.

Seemed a weak rewards considering the risks. But Bloodraven had told me to make alliances, the Tryells had a big army and lots of resources if I allied with them I could get Robb Stark on the Iron Throne. It would be nice to have a leader here who actually cared about more than himself.

"You're the Witch-King of Westeros" the lady was now saying "And she'll marry whomever her father tells her to and he does what I tell him to".

Out of all my titles, baron, lord, prince, professor, that one I liked the most, had a certain ring to it.

"Robb Stark would be nothing without you. And a year ago I'd never heard your name" Lady Tryell said next "Now your the second most powerful lord in Riverlands, you own land everywhere it seems. You have a castle and town, which came out of nowhere it seems. I have to wonder where you'll be a year from now".

As did I.

"If you save my grandchildren my son will turn on Stannis as he sacks the Westerlands. The Lannisters will be finished, and they'll be no one between your Robb Stark and the Iron Throne" I was now being told "He's already King in the North, this Young Wolf, he's got the Riverlands, his own aunt rules the Vale, and he's married to the Princess of Dorne, and soon he'll have brought the Iron Islands to heal. Can you think of anyone better to rule the Seven Kingdoms?".

Robb could actually do it. He had supporters, an army, me.

"Fine I'll save them" I decided.

Plus I did want to hunt down Verys in Kingslanding, might as well kill two birds with one stone. Not that I planned to re-marry, but if Stannis was out of the way that would leave Robb Stark clear to take the throne. As long as Lannisters were dealth with.


	34. GOT 16

**Planeswalker Gothic.**

 **GOT 16**

 **Pyke. The Iron Islands.**

Well I didn't say it out loud, as Theon was currently sitting his father's throne, mere meters away from me, I thought Pyke was a total dump. I hadn't seen much of the Iron Islands, but I could see why they went raiding so often, there wasn't much on these rocks. Even the castle was damp and cold. Still this wasn't what annoyed me so much.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I asked "Meera only died a few weeks ago".

When I'd gotten back from seeing the Faceless Men I'd gone to Highgarden and now I was here because I'd wanted to talk to Robb Stark about allying with House Tryell. They were going to turn on Stannis sooner or later so House Stark might as well benefit from it.

"And now you want me to marry Sansa!" I yelled.

That was madness. She was like 12.

"I was going to say the same to you" Robb replied "You're really going to save Loras and Margaery, betraying Stannis who were allied with!".

Well I'd figured he'd take it better than this. I was offering him a clear road to the Iron Throne, and he'd make such a better ruler than Stannis, who simply wasn't going to last. Besides at least Lady Tryell had only offered me a bride, Robb was trying to force one on me.

"Allying with the Tyrells makes more sense in the long run" I argued "You should be on the Iron Throne not Stannis!".

Robb did not like hearing that, although it might have something to do with the fact that he looked as if he hadn't slept for days. The fighting here must have been hard. His armour was covered in things best not thought about while my Darksteel Plate looked all shiny and new.

"Gothic, I don't want the Iron Throne" he stated "That's what nearly got my father killed. I want to stay in the North, I don't care what happens to Stannis".

He should.

"Even if I do nothing the Tryells will turn on Stannis sooner or later because he took Loras and Margaery as hostages" I said "Then they could ally with the Lannisters and put Tommen on the throne, only it will be Ceresi really ruling, and she will find a way to pay the Starks back for her brother and her father".

That evil bitch would find a way. Somehow. As for the Tyrells, well I doubted they'd turn on Stannis as long as he had Loras and Margaery, but he might die in battle. Plus when it came to who sat on the Iron Throne Stannis was by the lesser of the current evils, but he would still be a bad king. More so if that bloody Red Woman got her claws into him.

"You will not get involved with House Tryell" Robb ordered "You are lord at my command, and you will follow my commands".

I was so glad Jon wasn't here. He was in bed like any smart person would be at this hour.

"If you don't wish to marry Sansa now I understand you just lost your wife, but there will be an engagement..." he started to say.

I would have heard more if not for teleporting away.

(Line Break)

 **Pentos. Esso.**

As I flew over Pentos on the back of my Acid-Spewer Dragon, costly Black Mana creature, I flew over the city of Pentos. It had massive, high walls, and was filled with a lot square brick towers which dwarfed the many, smaller structures around them. Quite well set out in my view. I also saw many walled estates, the homes of rich merchants I guessed.

My current plan remained the same. I was done with Westeros, at least for now I had no desire to rule it myself, as I doubted my reign would last very long, and Robb didn't want the Iron Throne.

I also didn't want to marry a child. Robb's demanding of that had seemed odd until I'd realised that he must have been worried I'd ally with someone else, and I had been gone a while so it did make sense that he'd want to forge a closer alliance between us. And marriage was how alliances were made in Westeros.

Sure the Walkers seemed to be in a rush, but from what Bloodraven had told me, this was because I had the White Walkers in a bit of panic. They were moving faster because they were scared of me. And they should be, after my fight with Tirek I was starting to wonder if I even needed an army anymore. I could deal with the Walkers myself, after all my powers had grown since I'd last been in Westeros.

With no real reason to be concern about the Walkers, and with a good reason not to stay in Westeros any further, I'd decided to head east. A certain Mother of Dragons was on my list of people to met.

However before that I was going to go see a fellow called Illyrio as I still needed to deal with the Master of Whispers. I had to kill him before the month was up, or I'd have to go and destroy the House of Black and White. I felt nothing towards them, I'd never loved Meera, she'd been an ally, and not an important one. But I was still going to avenge her death, that was just for my sake.

Puff, my dragon, greatly slowed as ordered I it to land. It might just be a complex illusion, but it still did its job, which was to search for the best place to land, once I was touching the ground I ordered the black dragon back up into the air. Which was a good move as it was getting dark and in the darkness people would miss me, but not a dragon, so sending it away meant that no one paid me any attention. They were all looking up

"Point me, Illyrio Mopatis" I said using the point me spell.

The wand and then pointed at my objective. I kept doing that until I found a place that was a veritable stronghold, with brick walls twelve feet high topped with iron spikes. These did nothing to deter me as I could levitate. I couldn't fly as a human, but hovering up in the air wasn't much trouble.

The insides were filled with lush gardens, pillars wrapped in flowers, and a tiled courtyard. I caught sight of a marble pool with some sort of statue in its centre, surrounded by yet more flowers. A pretty sight, bit girly, made me wonder if Illyrio was gay.

"Point me, Illyrio Mopatis" I said again.

The wand pointed straight at a heavy set man in fine clothing, who looked to be chatting up one of his servants; a fair-haired young woman, it seemed like I'd been wrong about the guy thing. On the other hand he did have some half naked men as guards so maybe he swung both ways.

I pulled out my wand, and aimed it at each of the guards and the girl, casting stunner after stunner I really did love my wand. Ollivander creeped the hell out of me, but he did great work. One day I would reward him.

"Illyrio Mopatis?" I asked.

The man was currently tied to his chair thanks to yet another spell. Wand magic made things so easy for me.

"Yes..." he said slowly.

He seemed unsure as to where this conversation was leading.

"I'm looking for the Spider" I said.

Already I'd gone to Kingslanding anyway. As I had promised Lady Tyrell, only my wand had pointed me away from the Red Keep when I'd asked it to find me to Verys. Since Illyio was the only overseas contact I knew he had. It had made sense to look for him her. As for the Tryell heirs I'd saved them. It hadn't taken much effort, a little teleporting, a couple of summoned steeds, they were home before breakfast. I'd not stuck around to marry anyone I didn't want a person as a reward. Besides I was sure that somehow they'd have gotten out of such a commitment. As for Bloodraven, he'd also suggested that I head in this direction, although he hadn't told me why.

"Impressive entrance, Baron Gothic" someone else said "Or is Lord Gothic now".

Technically it was Prince Gothic.

"Lord Varys" I said while turning around "Aren't you supposed to be in King's Landing, sucking up to Stannis Baratheon, or be off kissing Ceresi's feet?".

Varys scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I know a lost cause when I see one" he replied "and I'm no lord".

With that he took out a dagger. A dagger made of valyrian steel and dragon bone.

"To think that you are part of these... blood magic cults" Varys said very hypocritically, considering he was holding a magic weapon "and a con artist too, oh yes I researched you".

Had he now.

"And, what did you find?" I wondered.

The Master of Whispers moved around a little, yet he acted as if he wasn't threatening me with a dagger. Then I realised he wasn't as he used it to untie his friend and then put it away. However it was the same dagger that had been used to slice upon Lady Stark's fingers by an assassin in the show. How interesting.

"Canterlot does not exist." Varys said "At least, not according to every expert I questioned, and no one had ever heard of you until you appeared one day in Winterfell. I suppose the gifts you gave were stolen from some wealthy merchant".

I didn't know whether to laugh or be offended. No wait I was offended so I gestured and my dragon went swooping and landed on the estates roof.

"Daenarys Targaryen possesses the last three dragons" Illyrio called out "There are no others"

He said that while looking at a dragon. Granted it wasn't a real one, it was just a good illusion, but he didn't know that. However rather than say anything about this matter I teleported up the roof, summoned that cool dagger with Accio and then ordered my dragon to kill the Master of Whispers, which it did. And I at once regretted doing it that way as being burned by acid is not a nice way do die, that image was going to stick with me for a while. As for the rest, I spared them.

(Line Break)

 **Qarth. Esso**

As I got closer to the city I wondered a lot about the Mother of Dragons. What type of queen she would be? Did I want to support her? Did she command the strength that she would need to take the Iron Throne? Would she be a good ruler? How did she feel about magic? How did she feel about the Starks?

They were still my favourite people in Westeros despite my disagreement with Robb, not this was saying much.

I knew Miss Stormborn from watching the TV show, and I had read the first ASOIAF book, several times actually, but Game of Thrones characters were complex people. That made them interesting to watch and read about, but when it actually came to meeting them it wasn't so good.

Well before I could met Miss Stormborn I had to get into the city. Which was proving tricky as the 13 that had greeted the Mother of Dragons, didn't even send one person to met me. It pissed me off.

Not one of them had sent word to me, let alone come to speak with me. They had not sent an envoy. They had not even sent a guard. No message at all, despite the fact that I was waiting patiently. I was a Planeswalker damn it.

Then I stopped being a git and started to wonder why not so much as a guard had come out. Maybe they were busy else where.

So I let myself in, focusing on what i could remember and soon I found myself outside the tower situated in the centre of Qarth. The House of the Undying.

The streets were empty for some reason, and I frowned under my cowl. Maybe this had to do with the only other significant bit I could remember about this city. The killing of the thirteen. That seemed as though it would scare the regular citizens of Qarth quite seriously even without a bunch of creepy sorcerers being behind the bloodshed. People like that gave mages like me a bad name.

That was when two men came at me from two directions. One of them looked to be middle-aged, and was dressed in a Westerosi suit of armour. Ser Jorah Mormount wasn't it? I was never any good with names.

The other a Dothraki man had his own blade drawn, and he gazed suspiciously at me, but I had no time for horse eating rapists.

Currently I was not wearing Darksteel Plate, because in this heat wearing a lot of metal would result in being roasted. I'd changed into robes. Because I was not wearing armour I used the card Ethereal Armor to enhance myself and to grant myself the First Strike ability.

 _"Bombarda Maxima!"_

Since there was no door, I made my own entrance, and this did not go unnoticed.

"Where is the Mother of Dragons" I demanded of a Warlock, as he attempted to edge away from me "Answer me, or I will show you what a true sorcerer can do".

Alas he did not make things easy for me.

"I-I am not afraid to die. I will not tell you anything. Valar Morghulis!" he shouted

Due to First Strike I stabbed the bad man with Winter's Bane before he finished raising his knife, and I soon moved on. The corridors of this was far too big for a tower of this size, and many of them bent in strange ways. There was something very supernatural about this place. If the disgraced knight and the horse rapist followed I didn't know.

Thanks to liberal uses of the point me spell I soon found the young Targaryen Queen, she was stood with her arms stretched to ether side; connected by chains to the walls. Behind her, on a table, three dragons were staring past their mother. Staring at the man that was talking.

"Welcome home, Daenerys Stormborn" The Warlock said.

I noted that he, unlike his fellows, was entirely blue. He did not just have the pale skin and blue lips of the others. Was he older? Had he had longer for the corruption to spread thanks to their strange drink?

"This is not my home," Miss Stormborn replied. "My home is across the narrow sea! Where my people are waiting for me."

They really weren't. Only a few people even knew there any dragonlords left.

"I am afraid they will be waiting for you for a long time" The Warlock stated.

Miss Stormborn turned to look at her dragons, and I wondered whether that expression was one of concern. It did not seem as simple as that. Then I saw that her captor had followed her line of sight, and that he abruptly began to back away. That was the opportune moment, and I took advantage of it.

Daenerys Targaryen opened her mouth to speak, as she decided on the fate of the man who dared steal her children; to give the command to her dragons to burn their captor, and then stopped. Stopped because the Warlock's head dropped to the ground. I'd just cut of his head. I was feeling very violent to day, must be the heat.

"Greetings Daenerys Stormborn" I said with a bow "Unlike these Warlocks I mean you harm, I just came to met you and found you like this. Nice dragons".

Well that had started off okay, and had gone a bit wrong. To help makes thing better I took out my wand and undid the chains.

"I do not trust you." Daenerys stated, not bothering to beat around the bush "You're another Warlock".

That wasn't actually a little insulting. In terms of magic that was like comparing a first year physics student to Stephen Hawking.

"Well the Warlocks are the closest things to me that you've met so far, and they didn't exactly give you a good impression" I said "But not all magic users are evil bastards".

The young woman did not change her view entirely at that remark, and who would blame her. However she had virtually no allies anymore, and so was desperate for the help. As such she wasn't going to tell me to get lost.

"And how do you feel about me?" she asked me, again being very direct.

I figured she was worried that I might not agree about her claim to the Iron Throne. Also I was wondering where Aegon had gotten off to, I'd gone to some trouble to bring him back to life. I hoped he'd not gotten himself killed.

"Your Grace I just met you" I replied "I don't feel anything towards you. I just couldn't resist a damsel in distress".

That made her smile a little, which made her look more pretty. She was pretty. Not a stunning beauty, but I could see why men fell for her. The eyes were a different story, she had purple eyes, they should have looked a bit odd, however they were... actually I didn't have words for it. Must be something to do with her blood of the dragon.

"I'll find a way to reward you soon" she promised.

Daenerys' temperament changed very quickly as one of her people began calling out her name.

"First, I have to have a conversation with Xaro Xhoan Daxos" she said.

I didn't know who that was, but I felt very sorry for him.

(Line Break)

 **Qarth. Esso**

The day after, as the Dothraki continued to strip the house of their host, who was most likely dead already as his oxygen would have run out in that small vault. Daenerys and I were sat in room that Xaro likely used to meet with esteemed visitors. She was using it for much the same purpose.

"Why is it that my dragons have grown fond of you so quickly?" Daenerys asked, with a hint of suspicion in her voice.

This I actually didn't know. The dragons of this this might just respond well to people with magic, the stronger the magic the happier the dragons. They might even feed of it, if so well I had plenty to spare.

"They are magic, and I am magic" I told her "Plus I did save their mother".

Most kids liked that, although they would have done it themselves soon enough. I'd just acted first.

"There must be more to you than just being magical" she said

Daenerys Targaryen listened, to what I decided to tell her about my life. I told her a lot less than I'd told Dumbledore, as I'd learned my lesson, yet by the end of the tale there was an almost childlike expression of wonder on Daenerys' face. I only stopped because someone knocked on the door.

"Come in" her Grace invited

Ser Jorah entered, and while she did not notice the flash of jealousy across the older man's face as his eyes moved from Daenerys to me, however I did notice.

"My Queen" he said "We are ready to leave at your earliest convenience".

That hadn't taken long, mind you the horse rapers were good at taking things that didn't belong to them.

"Oh" Daenerys said, failing to hid her surprise "And a ship has been prepared?".

The disgraced knight nodded.

"Yes, it seems the people of Qarth are eager to be rid of us. They are extremely accommodating and the ship and supplies we have purchased were very reasonable. Unfortunately, the gold was not of a high quality" He said, meaning the gold that they stole from Xaro's home "It was largely gold plating other metals, and the jewels were not of a particularly high worth, either. After everything that we purchased, almost all of your wealth has been depleted, Your Grace."

That was something I could help with, but it was best discussed in private. Miss Stormborn was magical herself, but her people might not be so trusting of a wizard. Besides it was best to limit what people knew of me and my power. This was something Dumbledore had taught me, although I was sure that he'd done something to make more talkative.

"I'm not surprised," she said, shaking her head. "It's a shame that there was no treasure in the vault, but we have to move on. There is nothing to gain from staying in Qarth; it is long since time for me to find an army".

Ah the Unsullied. That meant going to Astaphor if I remembered correctly.

"Though I am still disgusted by the notion of a slave army" she added.

As was I.

"Then don't buy one" I advised.

The knight frowned at me.

"We cannot take the Iron Throne without an army." Jorah replied "and I assumed that you supported Queen Daenerys' claim to the throne".

She could have it, I'd seen the damn thing. It wasn't worth fighting over in my view, but if Robb Stark didn't want the silly chair then the Mother of Dragon could sit on, and I might help depending on my mood. Not that I understood the appeal, it was a red mana artifact that was all. Heck I could make more attractive looking thrones using a card.

"That's not why I am here" I said

Jorah's eyes narrowed, while Daenerys waited for an elaboration.

"Oh you should know that Eddard Stark disagreed with Robert Baratheon's decision to send killers after you" I said to the exiled royal "and that the North and the Riverlands are pretty much independent from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. Should you try to take the throne I doubt they will try to stop you. Of course I doubt they'll help you either".

Clearly the Starks never wanted to go south of The Neck ever again.

"How can you expect us to trust you, if you are loyal to the Starks?" Jorah asked, voicing a valid a concern.

I soon told him.

"The Starks have always been kind to me, well until we had a falling out, but that's irrelevant. Robb Stark; he has no wish to sit on the Iron Throne, only to have the North, and while his father was Hand of the King for a while that resulted him getting locked up. They both just want to stay in the North and to rule it. While you want her Grace to sit on the Iron Throne. I do not see the two goals as incompatible" I said "The North could never be tamed and the Riverlands have suffered a lot recently they should be left alone".

I had hoped that Aegon would talk his descendant out of the idea of taking the Iron Throne. However he was either still looking for her, which was possible as he had been moving around a lot and Esso was a big place, or he'd gotten into trouble. If he had I didn't feel motivated to go help him out. I'd already given him second chance.

"That should be dealt with in the future. In the meantime, I hope that we can be allies." she said to me, while flashing a smile.

I wondered if I could shag the Mother of Dragons, it would be worth a try.

"If you can spare a few moments Your Grace, I might be able to help you out with your gold shortage" I said "As long as we can talk privately".

That got her attention.


	35. GOT 17

**Author Note**

Since I now have a job, go me, I won't be able to write as much as I used to.

This is the last chapter of Planeswalker Gothic, it seemed like a good place to end it since PG is going somewhere far away.

I have plans for a sequel that will be M-rated and will start after a time skip. I hope you all enjoyed this story.

 **Planeswalker Gothic**

 **GOT 17.**

 **Astapor. Esso.**

Since Jorah Cockblocker, as he was now called in my mind, had been at the queen's side day and night since we'd started travelling to Astapor, I'd not had any chances to get into her panties, assuming she wore any. Despite that I was starting to feel good again. Sure my wife had been murdered and Robb had driven me out of the Seven Kingdoms by ordering to me to marry a child, but other than that I felt good. I decided to go and out do some exploring.

Finding a lively party in one of the pyramids I'd viewed from the shoreline was not difficult. It seemed that the free people of Astapor preferred nightly revelries and debauchery, something I had little trouble getting behind after spending so much time around wholesome ponies. Getting into a party was not difficult either.

As I meandered through the party, drawing attention simply due to my physical appearances. I looked to be from the Northern lands of Westeros, plus I was wearing darksteel armour as such I was exotic enough to be a curiosity that drew looks.

However it was positive attention then negative. I caught the women in particular admiring me when I glanced in their direction. Sadly there weren't many women here, at least not ones already sitting in some guy's lap. From what I could overhear most of the party guests were old men jockeying for position and power. The rest were slaves and perhaps young wives or consorts. They didn't look like slaves, too well fed and they wore fine clothes.

Mere moments after getting some wine I was approached by a slaver, and since I was wearing armour and carrying Winter's Bane on my hip, he assumed I was a warlord or something like that, and started talking about the Unsullied, whom were of interest to me.

"If you wish to buy Unsullied, you will get no better deal than the Good Master Kraznys mo Nakloz. You must allow me to arrange a meeting for you. The other Good Masters will try to swindle you, try to give you less for more. Only Master Nakloz will trade with you in good faith" I was told

The name meant nothing to me.

"And why would this Good Master be any better than any other?" I asked.

In my view this man was doing an incredibly poor job of hiding his sycophancy,

"Well because Master Nakloz is honest and fair, of course" he said.

I gave the slaver a look, and then passed him a gemstone, a Mox Ruby, something used to hold Red Mana, but this one was empty. Still it looked expensive enough to use a bribe.

"The Good Master Kraznys mo Nakloz is young, younger than any of the other Good Masters. He is untested but he is also very ambitious. He has yet to make a sale of Unsullied, and thus he is not held in the same esteem as his father, despite holding the title of Good Master. A sale of Unsullied to someone such as yourself would increase his reputation and allow him to stand on equal footing with the other Good Masters".

Or to Miss Stormborn.

"Now, tell me what you stand to gain from finding a buyer for the Good Master's Unsullied?" I asked.

I didn't bribe him twice. There was no need to.

"The higher he rises, the higher I rise. The lower he falls, the lower I fall. His success is my success" the slaver explained.

This was something I could use.

"Wonderful" I said "I and a few friends of mine will meet with the Good Master as soon as you can arrange it. Assure him that we have no intention of leaving Astapor without an army of Unsullied. The only factor he need worry about is setting a fair price".

That was when I noticed something. His slave girl was from Westeros, her skin was too pale to be local, I also guessed that she had been kept out of the sun.

"Oh and you will gift me your slave girl, as a token of our new friendship" I commanded.

Both he and the slave look at me with wide eyes. The slaver was clearly startled as it took him several moments to reply, and even then he just stuttered.

"I will take the girl and we will have solidified our friendship" I told him "The rewards will be generous".

My eyes locked with the poor slave girl's and it was to tell how she felt. Not that she need worry. I intended to give him some gold and get her a job as Miss Stormborn's handmaiden. The queen would like having a girl from Westeros to talk to.

"Yes, of course… friend. She is yours, my gift to you. We will see each other tomorrow" he said "I will find you".

I turned my eyes back to the horrified slave girl, her own gaze was filled with betrayal as she stared at her former master's back. He moved to leave in rather a hurry.

(Line Break)

 **Astapor. Esso.**

Later that night I found Daenerys in one of a set of rooms she'd been able to rent, no doubt after trading for local coins some of the pretty things I'd conjured for her.

"You brought me a slave?", she asked after I'd introduced the queen to her new Handmaiden.

Well it would seem that way.

"She's from Westeros" I said "Some people from your homeland do end up as slaves, although its illegal there. I figured you might like having someone from Westeros to talk to. And she doesn't have to be a slave, you can always pay her. Besides if I'd freed her, where would she go? She'd only end up a slave again if I set her lose. Better to take her with you".

That calmed down the Mother of Dragons.

"Thank you" she said after a while.

I then took a seat.

"Your Grace" I started by saying "I've already made arrangements for us to met with a Master called Kraznys mo Nakloz. I've talked with one of his flunkies, who is going to arrange a meeting for us".

Daenerys wasn't pleased by this news, as she didn't care for slavery, but I had saved her some work.

"Good work" she praised.

That was when I took out a Mox Sapphire and presented it to the queen.

"A little investment" I told her "Should get a few more soldiers".

I then looked around.

"Where's your brave protector?" I asked.

It was odd not to see Ser Jorah hanging around Miss Stormborn.

"I wanted to speak with you alone" she said, while smiling at me.

Oh I had an idea where this was going.

(Line Break)

 **Astapor. Esso.**

My grip on the hilt of Winter's Bane was tight, yet Daenerys looked rather relaxed, not at all concerned that we were being kept waiting. She also looked rather regal, now wearing the Crown of Convergence, which I'd created for her, that went with a rather nice outfit some dressmakers had put together.

That we were waiting didn't bother me so much, it was the location in which we were waiting. The Plaza of Pride was far from the most disgusting part of Astapor, but it was a horrendous reminder of how mundane slavery was in this part of the world. Of how little the masters cared for the lives of the slaves. It made me want to use my sword on someone.

Without even turned my head I could see more than a dozen types of slaves. From bodyguards, to singers, to dancers. From wet nurses to those that would be inevitably tossed into the pits to fight each other or the wild beasts sometimes let lose in the arenas. Plus women you couldn't even call whores, because a whore could always refuse you. Of course, there were also the simpler slaves. The labourers, cooks, and cleaners that all masters required. To not have at least one of each was to have no status in this city, and that spoke volumes.

Then there were soldiers, the Unsullied were… impressive from what little I'd seen of them. The unsullied moved as a singular being. Their shields interlocked, and their spears stabbed out in unison. They could do this because they had been mercilessly drilled to fight as part of a unit. Only as part of a whole.

Around the edge of the courtyard, the slave-soldiers outshone the few free men who chose that duty. It was no surprise. No free man would choose to have the rigorous training that the Unsullied had forced upon them, and their more expensive equipment could not make up for that. Nor was the slight advantage they had in having some kind of free will.

"Tell me of them." Daenerys instructed, her own gaze resting on the Unsullied without expression.

Jorah responded first and I tuned out the information, while keeping an eye out for trouble. I felt vulnerable without my darksteel armour, but if I'd worn I'd have collapsed by now.

Not that it was my own well being that concerned me, what had me really concerned was that Miss Stormborn, a woman I'd gone to bed with just last night, was about to kill a lot of people. I was trying not to plan ahead, as my plans never seemed to work out anyway. Mostly I was just doing whatever the hell I felt like doing. Which was why I'd liberated the Tryell siblings, I'd just wanted to without any good reason to. Making choices at the spur of the moment should have felt freeing, only I was now starting to feel bad.

I was sure that Robb Stark would have calmed down by now, I was also thinking that I'd reacted badly when being told to marry Sansa. If I'd been smart about it I would have realised that speaking to Ned Stark on the matter was what I should have done. He'd have been able to sort things out so that I didn't have to marry his daughter. I very much doubted he would approve of the match anyway given that I had a habit of skipping dimensions when in the mood.

Now I was here in Astapor, willingly aiding a woman who would soon be a mass murderer. Granted the so called 'Good Masters' weren't nice people, but that didn't mean they were all evil. Sure the Unsullied killed babies because they were ordered too, and they'd been more or less brainwashed into following orders, but that didn't mean every master was like that. What about those who trained slaves to clean houses and work in kitchens, were they cruel?

"Gothic?" a voice.

I turned to face the queen.

"We have been asked to proceed to the meeting place" she said

Oh goody.

(Line Break)

"The Unsullied have stood here for a day and a night without water" The translator said

She was translating for her master Kraznys... something or other. I'd already forgotten his name. I didn't see much point remembering it since he'd be dead soon.

"The things will stand until they drop, they are so obedient." Kraznys continued, in Valyrian.

Melisandre repeated the statement, without any pride, in the common tongue.

Neither Miss Stormborn or I needed any translating, as I understood everything I heard, and she spoke Valyrian because she was Valyrian.

"They may suit my needs," Daenerys said, sounding casual "Tell me of their training".

I noticed that the exiled royal did not speak to the 'Good Master', but to the translator.

"The Westerosi woman is impressed but speaks no praise in order to lower the price." Melisandre informed her master. "She wishes to know how they are trained".

Harshly would be my answer.

"Tell her what she wants to know and be quick about it. The day is hot, and I grow bored" Kraznys ordered.

Which she soon did.

"They begin their training at five. Everyday they drill from dawn to dusk until they have mastered the short sword, the shield and the spear. Only one boy in five survives this rigorous training." Melisandre informed "Their discipline and loyalty are absolute. They fear nothing".

While looking at them it was easy to believe that.

"Even the bravest men fear death," Jorah said.

In my experience this was true.

"The knight says that even brave men fear death." Melisandre translated for her master.

"Tell the old man he smells of piss." Kraznys responded.

Melisandre hesitated to obey

"Master?" she asked "Are you sure?".

This Kraznys guy really needed to work on his sales pitch. Not that he would get the chance.

"No, not truly! Are you a girl or a goat to ask such a thing?!" he berated. "Tell the old man that the Unsullied are not men. Death means nothing to them".

Which she did.

"Can they ride a horse?" I asked "They might face Calvary".

I'd spoken in English, but the 'Good Master' heard me in his own language.

Kraznys sneered.

"Tell the boy that they are better trained than those horse lovers, and not to talk of matters of which he knows nothing" he said to his translator.

Now I took solace in knowing that the disgusting slaver would be dead soon. And anyway I'd wondering how they'd do against a Calvary charge, not against the horse rapists.

"My master assures you that they more than make up for not being able to ride with their training and… and their discipline" she said.

Miss Stormborn spoke next.

"I have heard tell of the discipline of the Unsullied, and I am sure that it is impressive, but they are still only soldiers. And as soldiers they are men. They have the same limitations as any man would" she said.

After Melisandre did her job, Kraznys sneered again, then he went and cut off one of a nipples of an Unsullied solider.

"Tell the good master there is no need-" She spoke hurriedly.

As it turned out Kraznys understood her as replied before his translator even said anything

"She's worried about their nipples? Does the dumb bitch know we've cut off their balls?" he said.

Melisandre did her best.

"Master Kraznys points out that men don't need nipples" she said.

Why did men have nipples? It was an odd time and place to wonder about that, but not knowing was now bugging me.

"Before his training is complete an Unsullied must go to the slave quarters, find a newborn, and kill it before its mother's eyes before paying a silver coin for the trouble" Melisandre's told us "This way, my master says, we make sure there is no weakness let in them".

Miss Stormborn was not happy about this.

"You take a babe from its mother's arms, kill it, and pay for her horror with a silver coin?" she asked.

Daenerys' tone contained a significant amount of venom.

"My master would like you to know that the coin is paid to the baby's owner, not the mother" the translator told us after she'd spoke to her owner.

Things progressed quickly. The payment had already been arranged behind the scenes. Now it was time to hand over the merchandise. There was no need to sell a dragon this time as I had just summoned up plenty of shiny things.

"Is it done then?" Daenerys asked of Kraznys, as she looked at the whip now in her hand. "They belong to me?".

Even with his knowledge of what was next, I found myself struggling to stand still. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I wanted to do it.

"It is done. She holds the whip. The Bitch has her army."

"It is done. You hold the whip, and so they will obey your orders." the translator informed Daenerys.

Any moment not.

"Attention!" she shouted.

At her use of a high valyrian word, which roughly translated as 'attention' to me, everyone turned to look at the queen.

"Forward march!" she then ordered

The unsullied marched forwards.

"Halt!" was her next command.

The unsullied ceased their movement.

"You speak Valyrian?!" Kraznys said, shocked to his core.

He was such a dumb ass.

"I am Daenerys of the House Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyria" she said as her eyes narrowed, and she glared on at the slaver as one would look at a piece of dirt. "Valyrian is my mother tongue".

Then she turned, and looked at her new army.

"Slay the masters! Slay the soldiers! Slay every man holding a whip!" she told them "But slay no child and strike the chains off every slave you see!"

Two masters were unfortunate to have been walking amongst the Unsullied, checking that their formation was as perfect as it could be. They died first, speared from behind by two fast-acting unsullied.

"Stop this!" Kraznys shouted.

I knew they wouldn't obey.

"I AM YOUR MASTER!" he roared.

They didn't listen, and I watched as the Unsullied killed everyone in sight who wasn't a slave like them. I'd seen in the show, but this was different. The Unsullied just killed and killed, no matter how much anyone begged for mercy, or how old they were. I saw a young man, little more than a boy, pick up a whip to defend himself after he watched an older man, possibly his father, be cut down. The Unsullied killed him to, and it just kept going on. Women wept, children screamed, men died and above three small dragons roared.

What made it all the worse was Daenerys expression, she wasn't happy, nor did she looked like what was going on around was some grim but necessary. She looked totally unaffected, and that was chilling.

"Okay screw this" I said "I'm out of here".

I was going to Planeswalk somewhere very far away. So far away that I didn't even know where I was going. I just left. Fuck this dimension the Night King could have it.


End file.
